Chord American Pie - Don McLean

[Bait 1]
  G    D    Em
A long long time ago
Am                      C
I   can still remember how
           Em                   D
That music used to make me smile
    G            D      Em
And I  knew if I had my  chance
     Am                    C
That I   could make those people dance
    Em                    C              D
And maybe they'd be happy for a while
Em                     Am
But February made me shiver
Em                    Am
With every paper I'd deliver
C        G          Am
Bad news on the doorstep
  C                           D
I couldn't take one more step
  G              D       Em
I can't remember if I cried
       C              D
When I read about his widowed bride
    G         D          Em
But something touched me deep inside
C              D     G
The day the music died

[Reff 1]
   G    C                 G      D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C
Drove my Chevy to the levee
        G             D
but the levee was dry
         G             C
And them good ole boys
              G               D
were drinking whiskey and rye
        Em                            A
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
Em                        D
This'll be the day that I die

[Bait 2]
G                    Am
Did you write the book of love
           C                Am
And do you have faith in God above
Em                      D
If the Bible tells you so?
            G          D     Em
Now, do you believe in rock and roll?
    Am              C
Can music save your mortal soul?
    Em                    A
And can you teach me
                  D
how to dance real slow?
        Em                  D
Well, I know that you're in love with him
         Em                   D
'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
    C           G              Am
You both kicked off your shoes
       C                          D
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues
        G              D  Em
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
       Am                   C
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
      G         D          Em
But I knew I was out of luck
        C            D       G  C
The day the music died
G            D
I started singin'

[Reff 2]
     G  C                 G      D
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C
Drove my Chevy to the levee
        G             D
but the levee was dry
     G             C
Them good ole boys
              G               D
were drinking whiskey and rye
        Em                        A
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
Em                        D
This'll be the day that I die

[Bait 3]
         G                    Am
Now, for ten years we've been on  our own
         C               Am
And moss grows fat on a   rolling stone
     Em                     D
But, that's not how it used to be
         G           D          Em
When the jester sang for the king and queen
     Am                    C
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
      Em              A                  D
And a voice that came from you and me
        Em                      D
Oh, and while the king was looking down
    Em               D
The jester stole his thorny crown
    C         G                Am
The courtroom was adjourned
   C                D
No verdict was returned
          G         D           Em
And while Lennon read a book on Marx
    Am                C
The quartet practiced in the park
    G       D      Em
And we sang dirges in the dark
        C            D       G  C
The day the music died
G          D
We were singin'

[Reff 3]
     G  C                 G      D
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C
Drove my Chevy to the levee
        G             D
but the levee was dry
     G             C
Them good ole boys
              G               D
were drinking whiskey and rye
        Em                        A
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
Em                        D
This'll be the day that I die

[Bait 4]
G                 Am
Helter skelter in a   summer swelter
          C                  Am
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Em                        D
Eight miles high and falling fast
G         D          Em
It landed foul on the grass
    Am                  C
The players tried for a forward pass
         Em                      A            D
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
        Em                D
Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
      Em                      D
While the sergeants played a marching tune
C          G           Am
We all got up to dance
        C                       D
Oh, but we never got the chance
           G       D             Em
'Cause the players tried to take the field
Am                         C
The marching band refused to yield
G             D           Em
Do you recall what was revealed
        C            D       G  C
The day the music died
G             D
We started singin'

[Reff 4]
     G  C                 G      D
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C
Drove my Chevy to the levee
        G             D
but the levee was dry
     G             C
Them good ole boys
              G               D
were drinking whiskey and rye
        Em                        A
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
Em                        D
This'll be the day that I die

[Bait 5]
        G                    Am
Oh, and there we were all in  one place
  C             Am
A generation lost in space
     Em                      D
With no  time left to start again
           G          D       Em
So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Am                  C
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
       Em               A                   D
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend
    Em                    D
Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
   Em                     D
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
C        G            Am
No angel born in Hell
      C                        D
Could break that Satan's spell
                  G          D      Em
And as the flames climbed high into the night
   Am                  C
To light the sacrificial rite
      G        D        Em
I saw Satan laughing with delight
        C            D       G  C
The day the music died
G         D
He was singin'

[Reff 5]
     G  C                 G      D
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C
Drove my Chevy to the levee
        G             D
but the levee was dry
     G             C
Them good ole boys
              G               D
were drinking whiskey and rye
        Em                        A
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
Em                        D
This'll be the day that I die

[Bait 6]
G          D        Em
I met a girl who sang the blues
    Am                      C
And I   asked her for some happy news
Em                       D
But she just smiled and turned away
G            D         Em
I  went down to the sacred store
      Am                   C
Where I'd heard the music years before
        Em                            C                D
But the man there said the music wouldn't play
Em                      Am
And in the streets the children screamed
Em                         Am
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed
C                 G      Am
But not a word was spoken
    C                            D
The church bells all were broken
    G             D           Em
And the three men I admire most
C                        D
The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
G               D          Em
They caught the last train for the coast
C       D         G
The day the music died

[Reff 6]
And they were singing
G    C                 G      D
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C
Drove my Chevy to the levee
        G             D
but the levee was dry
         G             C
And them good ole boys
              G               D
were drinking whiskey and rye
        Em                        A
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
Em                        D
This'll be the day that I die

[Reff 7]
They were singing
G    C                 G      D
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C
Drove my Chevy to the levee
        G             D
but the levee was dry
         G             C
And them good ole boys
              G               D
were drinking whiskey and rye
        C                  D         G   C  G
Singin' this'll be the day that I die