American Pie

EADGBe
[G]       ===     320003
[D/F#]    ===     200232
[Em7]     ===     020000
[Am]      ===     X02210
[C]       ===     332010
[Em]      ===     022000
[D]       ===     XX0232
[Dsus4]   ===     XX0233
[Dsus2]   ===     XX0230
[G/B]     ===     X20003
[Am7]     ===     X02010
[D7]      ===     XX0212
[A7]      ===     X02020

Sung with Piano only):
[N.C.]A   lo[G]ng, lo[D/F#]ng  ti[Em7]me ago,
[Am]I can still re[C]member how that [Em]music used to make me [D]smile.[Dsus4]      [D]        [Dsus2]              [D]
And [G]I knew if [D/F#]I had my cha[Em7]nce,
That [Am]I could make those [C]people dance,
And [Em]maybe they'd be [C]happy for a [D]while.[Dsus4]      [D]        [Dsus2]              [D]
[Em]But February [Am]made me shiver, [Em]with every paper [Am]I'd deliver.
[C]Bad news [G/B]on the [Am]doorstep, I [C]couldn't take one more [D]step.
I [G]can't re[D/F#]member if I [Em]cried when I [Am7]read about his wi[D]dowed bride,
[G]Something [D]touched me [Em]deep inside.
The [C]day the [D7]music [G]died.[C]

"Sing it for us, loud and clear"

So [G]bye, [C]bye Miss [G]American [D]Pie,
Drove my [G]Chevy to the [C]levy but the [G]levy was [D]dry.
And them [G]good old [C]boys were drinkin' [G]whiskey and [D/F#]rye,
Singin' "[Em]This will be the day that I [A7]die,
[Em]This will be the day that I [D7]die."

Did [G]you write the [Am]book of love,
And do [C]you have faith in [Am]God above,
[Em]If the Bible tells [D]you so?
Now do [G]you bel[D/F#]ieve in [Em]rock and roll?
Can [Am7]music save your [C]mortal soul?
[Em]And can you teach me how to d[A7]ance real [D]slow?[D7]
Well I [Em]know that you're in [D]love with him,
[Em]'Cause I saw you [D]dancin' in the gym.
You [C]both kicked [G]off your [A7]shoes, man I [C]dig those rhythm and [D7]blues.
I was a [G]lonely [D/F#]teenage [Em]broncin' buck with a [Am]pink carnation and a [C]pickup truck.
But [G]I knew [D/F#]I was [Em]out of luck the [C]day the [D7]music [G]die[C]d, [G]I started [D7]singing'...

So [G]bye, [C]bye Miss [G]American [D]Pie.
Drove my [G]Chevy to the [C]levy but the [G]levy was [D]dry.
And them [G]good old [C]boys were drinkin' [G]whiskey and [D]rye.
Singin' "[Em]This will be the day that I [A7]die,
[Em]This will be the day that I [D7]die."

Now for [G]ten years we've been [Am]on our own,
And [C]moss grows fat on a [Am]rolling stone,
[Em]But that's not how it [D]used to be.
When the [G]jester [D]sang for the [Em]king and queen.
in a [Am7]coat he borrowed f[C]rom James Dean, in a [Em]voice that came from [A7]you and [D]me.
And [Em]while the king was [D]looking down, the [Em]jester stole his [D]thorny crown.
The c[C]ourtroom [G]was adjour[A7]ned, [C]no verdict was [D7]returned.
And while [G]Lenin [D]read [Em]a book on Marx, [Am]the quartet practiced [C]in the park.
And [G]we sang [D]dirges [Em]in the dark, the [C]day the [D7]music [G]die[C]d, [G]we were [D7]singing'...

So [G]bye, [C]bye Miss [G]American [D]Pie,
Drove my [G]Chevy to the [C]levy but the [G]levy was [D]dry.
And them [G]good old [C]boys were drinkin' [G]whiskey and [D]rye.
Singin' "[Em]This will be the day that I [A7]die,
[Em]This will be the day that I [D7]die."

[G]Helter skelter in a [Am]summer swelter,
[C]The birds flew off with[Am] a fallout shelter,
[Em]Eight miles high and [D]fallin' fast.
It lan[G]ded [D]foul on [Em]the grass,
the pl[Am7]ayers tried for a f[C]orward pass, [Em]with the jester on the [A7]sidelines in [D]a cast
Now at ha[Em]lftime there was s[D]weet perfume, while [Em]sergeants played a m[D]arching tune
[C]We all got [G]up to [A7]dance, but [C]we never got the [D7]chance,
'Cause the [G]players [D]tried to [Em]take the field, the [Am]marching band [C]refused to yield.
Do [G]you re[D]call what [Em]was the feel the [C]day the [D7]music [G]die[C]d, [G]we started [D7]singing'...

So [G]bye, [C]bye Miss [G]American [D]Pie,
Drove my [G]Chevy to the [C]levy but the [G]levy was [D]dry.
And them [G]good old [C]boys were drinkin' [G]whiskey and [D]rye.
Singin' "[Em]This will be the day that I [A7]die,
[Em]This will be the day that I [D7]die."

And t[G]here we were all [Am]in one place,
A [C]generation [Am]lost in space,
[Em]With no time left to [D]start again.
So come on [G]Jack be [D]nimble, [Em]Jack be quick, [Am7]Jack Flash sat on a [C]candlestick,
[Em]'Cause fire is the devil's [A7]only fri[D]end.
And [Em]as I watched him [D]on the stage, my [Em]hands were clenched in [D]fists of rage,
No [C]angel [G]born in [A7]Hell could [C]break that Satan's [D7]spell.
And as the [G]flames climbed [D]high in[Em]to the night [Am]to light the [C]sacrificial rite,
I saw [G]Satan [D]laughing with de[Em]light the [C]day the [D7]music [G]die[C]d, [G]he was [D7]singing'...

So [G]bye, [C]bye Miss [G]American [D]Pie,
Drove my [G]Chevy to the [C]levy but the [G]levy was [D]dry.
And them [G]good old [C]boys were drinkin' [G]whiskey and [D]rye,
Singin' "[Em]This will be the day that I [A7]die,
[Em]This will be the day that I [D7]die."

Sung with Piano only):
I [G]met a [D/F#]girl who [Em]sang the blues,
And [Am]I asked her for some [C]happy news,
But [Em]she just smiled and [D]turned away.[Dsus4]      [D]        [Dsus2]              [D]
I [G]went [D/F#]down to the [Em]sacred store,
[G]Where I'd [Am]heard the music [C]years before, but the [Em]man there said the [C]music wouldn't [D]play.
And [Em]in the streets the [Am]children screamed, the [Em]lovers cried and the [Am]poets dreamed.
But [C]not a [G/B]word was [Am]spoken, the [C]church bells all were [D]broken.
And the [G]three men [D/F#]I adm[Em]ire [G]most, the [C]Father, Son, and the [D7]Holy Ghost,
They [G]caught the [D/F#]last train [Em]for the coast the [C]day the [Am7]musi[D7]c  [G]died.
And they were [D7]singing'...

"Sing it for me now"

Bye[G], bye[C], bye Mis[G]s America[D]n Pie,
Drove my [G]Chevy to the [C]levy but the [G]levy was [D]dry. "Everybody"
And them [G]good old [C]boys were drinkin' [G]whiskey and [D]rye
Singin' "[Em]This will be the day that I [A7]die,
[Em]This will be the day that I [D7]die."
And they were[D7] singing'...
By[G]e, by[C]e, bye Mi[G]ss Americ[D]an Pie,
Drove my [G]Chevy to the [C]levy but the [G]levy was [D]dry. "Everybody"
And them [G]good old [C]boys were drinkin' [G]whiskey and [D]rye
Singin' "[C]This will be the [D7]day that I [G]die.[C]"   [G]

 [End]

Notes:
1. This version was borne out frustration to get this to match the Live performance.
2. In 2001 "American Pie" was voted No. 5 in a poll of the 365 Songs of the
Century compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National
Endowment for the Arts.