Don Mclean – American Pie chords

American Pie by Don McLean
Tabbed by: Brian Jenkins

G	320033
D	xx0232
D7	xx0121
Em	022000
Am	x02210
Am7	x02010

1st Verse:

  G     D    EmA long, long time ago, 
Am            C               Em                    DI can still remember how that music used to make me smile
    G      D    Em And I know if I had my chance,
     Am                 C                Em              C           Dthat I could make those people dance and maybe they'd be happy for a while            
    Em       Am                   Em          AmBut February made me shiver, with every paper I'd deliver
C        G      Am          C                      DBad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step
  G          D        Em           Am7            DI can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride,
G         D          Emsomething touched me deep inside,
    C       D7    Gthe day the music died

Chorus:

   G    C        G        DSo bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C            G        DDrove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
         G        C                  G           Dand them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        Em                          A7   Em                          D7Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

2nd Verse:

G                 Am      Did you write the book of love
       C                 Am         Em           Dand do you have faith in god above, if the bible tells you so
G      D          EmDo you believe in rock and roll,
    Am7             C                       Em                         A7   Dcan music save your mortal soul and can you teach me how to dance real slow
       Em                  D                      Em              DWell I know that you're in love with him 'cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
    C                    A7           C                    D7You both kicked off your shoes, man I dig those rhythm and blues
        G      D       Em                   Am                   CI was a lonely teenage broncin' buck with a pink carnation and a pickup truck
    G      D     Em              C       D7    G    C Gbut I knew I was out of luck the day the music died  

I started singin'

Chorus:

   G    C        G        DSo bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C            G        DDrove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
         G        C                  G           Dand them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        Em                          A7   Em                          D7Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

3rd Verse:

        G                    Am              Now for ten years we've been on our own,
    C                   Am            Em                    Dand moss grows fat on a rolling stone but that's not how it used to be
         G      D            EmWhen the jester sang for the king and queen 
     Am7              C                    Em                   A7      Din a coat he borrowed from James Dean in a voice that came from you and me
    Em                 D                 Em               DAnd while the king was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown
    C             A7         C              D7The courtroom was adjourned, no verdict was returned
          G     D      Em                Am                       CAnd while Lenin read a book on Marx, the quartet practiced in the park
    G       D      Em              C       D7    G    C Gand we sang dirges in the dark the day the music died   

We were singin'

Chorus:

   G    C        G        DSo bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C            G        DDrove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
         G        C                  G           Dand them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        Em                          A7   Em                          D7Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

4th Verse:

G                   AmHelter skelter in a summer swelter,
C                         Am               Em                   Dthe birds flew off with a fallout shelter, eight miles high and fallin' fast,
   G      D           Emit landed foul on the grass
    Am7                 C             Em                     A7             Dthe players tried for a forward pass, with the jester on the sidelines in a cast
       Em                 D                    Em                 DNow at halftime there was sweet perfume, while sergeants played a marching tune
C                A7         C                D7We all got up to dance, but we never got the chance
           G       D        Em                  Am              C'cause the players tried to take the field, the marching band refused to yield
   G     D         Em               C       D7    G    C GDo you recall what was the feel the day the music died

We started singin'

Chorus:

   G    C        G        DSo bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C            G        DDrove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
         G        C                  G           Dand them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        Em                          A7   Em                          D7Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

5th Verse:

    G                 AmAnd there we were all in one place,
  C          Am                  Em                    Da generation lost in space, with no time left to start again
           G       D       Em             Am7                 CSo come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack Flash sat on a candlestick,
       Em                       A7     D'cause fire is the devil's only friend
    Em               D                Em                     DAnd as I watched him on the stage, my hands were clenched in fists of rage
   C             A7         C                  D7No angel born in Hell could bread that Satan's spell
           G              D      Em              Am             CAnd as the flames climbed high into the night to light the sacrificial rite
      G     D        Em               C       D7    G    C GI saw Satan laughing with delight the day the music died

He was singin'

Chorus:

   G    C        G        DSo bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C            G        DDrove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
         G        C                  G           Dand them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        Em                          A7   Em                          D7Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

6th Verse:

  G     D        EmI met a girl who sang the blues
      Am                 C               Em                          Dand I asked her for some happy news, but she just smiled and turned away
  G         D      EmI went down to the sacred store
          Am              C                     Em                 Cwhere I'd heard the music years before, but the man there said the music
         Dwouldn't play
    Em                 Am                     Em                   AmBut in the streets the children screamed, the lovers cried and the poets dreamed
    C              Am          C                     DBut not a word was spoken, the church bells all were broken                       
        G         D   Em             Am7     C            D7And the three men I admire most, the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
G               D          Em                Am7     D7    GThey caught the last train for the coast the day the music died,

And they were singin'

Chorus/Outro:

   G    C        G        DSo bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C            G        DDrove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
         G        C                  G           Dand them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        C                D7         G Singin' this will be the day that I die