{title: American Pie}
{artist: Don McLean}
{time: 4/4}
{tempo: 140}
{key: G}
{meta: author Frans-Willem Post, 2026-05-06}
{meta: url https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRpiBpDy7MQ}
{start_of_verse: Verse 1}
A [G]long, [D]long [Em]time ago
[Am]I can still re[C]member
[Em] how that music used to make me [D]smile
And [G]I knew [D]if I [Em]had my chance
That [Am]I could make those [C]people dance
And [Em]maybe they'd be [C]happy for a [D]while
But [Em]February [Am]made me shiver
With [Em]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 [Em]if I cried
When I [C]read about his [D]widowed bride
But [G]something [D/F#]touched me [Em]deep inside
The [C]day the [D]music [G]died
So
{end_of_verse}
{start_of_chorus: Chorus 1}
[G]bye-[C]bye, Miss A[G]merican [D]Pie
Drove my [G]Chevy to the [C]levee, but the [G]levee was [D]dry
And them [G]good ol' [C]boys were drinkin' [G]whiskey and [D]rye
Singin', "[Em]This'll be the day that I [A7]die
[Em]This'll be the day that I [D]die"
{end_of_chorus}
{start_of_verse: Verse 2}
[G] Did you write the [Am]book of love?
And do [C]you have faith in [Am]God above
[Em] if the Bible [D]tells you so?
Now, do [G]you be[D/F#]lieve in [Em]rock 'n' roll?
Can [Am]music save your [C]mortal soul?
And [Em]can you teach me [A]how to dance [D]real slow?
Well, I [Em]know that you're in [D]love with him
'Cause I [Em]saw you dancin' [D]in the gym
You [C]both kicked [G/B]off your [Am]shoes,
Man, I [C]dig those rhythm and [D]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]died [C] [G]
I started [D]singin'
{end_of_verse}
{chorus: Chorus 2}
{start_of_verse: Verse 3}
Now, for [G]ten years we've been [Am]on our own
And [C]moss grows fat on a [Am]rollin' stone
But [Em]that's not how it [D]used to be
When the [G]jester [D/F#]sang for the [Em]king and queen
In a [Am]coat he borrowed [C]from James Dean
And a [Em]voice that [A7]came from you and [D]me
Oh, and [Em]while the king was [D]looking down
The [Em]jester stole his [D]thorny crown
The [C]courtroom [G/B]was ad[Am]journed
No [C]verdict was re[D]turned
And while [G]Lenin [D/F#]read a [Em]book on Marx
The [Am]quartet practiced [C]in the park
And [G]we sang [D/F#]dirges [Em]in the dark
The [C]day the [D7]music [G]died [C] [G]
We were [D]singin'
{end_of_verse}
{chorus: Chorus 3}
{start_of_verse: Verse 4}
[G]Helter skelter [Am]in a summer swelter
The [C]birds flew off with a [Am]fallout shelter,
[Em] Eight miles high and [D]fallin' fast
[G] It landed [D/F#]foul [Em]on the grass
The [Am]players tried for a [C]forward pass
With the [Em]jester on the [A7]sidelines in a [D]cast
Now, the [Em]halftime air was [D]sweet perfume
While [Em]sergeants played a [D]marching tune
We [C]all got [Em/B]up to [Am]dance,
Oh, but we [C]never got the [D]chance
'Cause the [G]players [D/F#]tried to [Em]take the field
The [Am]marching band re[C]fused to yield
Do [G]you re[D/F#]call what [Em]was revealed
The [C]day the [D7]music [G]died? [C] [G]
We started [D]singin'
{end_of_verse}
{chorus: Chorus 4}
{start_of_verse: Verse 5}
Oh, [G]and there we were all [Am]in one place
A [C]generation [Am]lost in space
With [Em]no time left to [D]start again
So, come on, [G]Jack be [D/F#]nimble, [Em]Jack be quick
[Am]Jack Flash sat on a [C]candlestick
'Cause [Em] fire is the [A7]Devil's only [D]friend
Oh, and [Em]as I watched him [D]on the stage
My [Em]hands were clenched in [D]fists of rage
No [C]angel [Em/B]born in [Am]Hell
Could [C]break that Satan [D]spell
And as the [G]flames climbed [D/F#]high in[Em]to the night
To [Am]light the sacri[C]ficial rite
I saw [G]Satan [D/F#]laughing [Em]with delight
The [C]day the [D7]music [G]died [C] [G]
He was [D]singin'
{end_of_verse}
{chorus: Chorus 5}
{start_of_part: Bridge}
[G] I met a [D/F#]girl who [Em]sang the blues
And I [Am]asked her for some [C]happy news
But [Em]she just smiled and [D]turned away
[G]I went [D/F#]down to the [Em]sacred store
Where I'd [Am]heard the music [C]years before
But the [Em]man there said the [C]music wouldn't [D]play
[Em] And 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 ad[Em]mire most
The [C]Father, Son, and the [D]Holy Ghost
They [G]caught the [D/F#]last train [Em]for the coast
The [C]day the [D7]music [G]died
And they were singin'
{end_of_part}
{chorus: Chorus 6}
{start_of_chorus: Outro}
They were singin',
[G]bye-[C]bye, Miss A[G]merican [D]Pie
Drove my [G]Chevy to the [C]levee, but the [G]levee was [D]dry
Them [G]good ol' [C]boys were drinkin' [G]whiskey and [D]rye
Singin', "[C]This'll be the [D7]day that I [G]die." [C] [G]
{end_of_chorus}