American Pie

bye - bye Miss A me - ri - can Pie, Drove my
Che - vy to the lev - ee but the lev - ee was dry---- them
good ol' boys were drink-in whis - key and rye Singing
This ' ll be the day that I die,---------
This 'll be the day that I die------------------------ ------

long long time ago... I can still re - mem - ber how that
mu - sic used to make me sm ---- ------- ile. And
I knew if I had my chance that I could make those peo - ple dance and
may - be they'd be ha - ppy for a while----------------------- ----
but Feb-ru-ary made me shiver with ev - 'ry pa - per I'd de - liv - er
Bad news on the door - step I could - n't take one more step I
can't remem -ber if I cried when I read a -bout his wid-owed bride but
some-thing touched me deep in-side, the da----------y the mu---- sic
died ---------- ---- ------------------------------ --------------- So

Did you write the book of love, and do you have faith in God above?
If the Bi- ble tells you so-o Now do you be - lieve in rock n roll? -- Can
music save your mortal soul? and can you teach me how to dance real
sl o o ow? ------- - Well I know that you're in love with him cause I
saw you dan - cin' in the gym, You both kicked off your shoes - Man, I
dig those rhythm n blues - I was a lone-ly teen-age broncin' buck with a
pink carn-ation and a pickup truck.- But I knew I was out of luck the day
--- the mu - - sic died - - ----------- ----------- I started singing...

for ten years we've been on our own n moss grows fat on a rolling stone but
that's not how it used to be-e When the jes-ter sang for the King and Queen In a
coat he borrowed from James Dean and a voice that came from you and
m-e e Oh, and while the King was look - ing down the
jes - ter stole his thor - ny crown The court room was ad journed, no
ver - dict was re- tur - n -ed. and while Len - non read a book on Marx, the
quartet practiced in the park and we sang dir - ges in the dark the day
------- the mu - sic died. ----- ---------- ------------ We were singing..


Helter Skelter in a summer swel-ter The birds flew off with the fall out shelter
8 miles high and falling fa- st It lan - ded fo ul on the grass The
players tried for a forward pass with the jest - er on the side lines in a
c - a - st Now the half time air was sweet perfume While
sergeants played a march- ing tune We all got up to dance Oh, but
we never got the chance Cause the play - ers tried to take the field, The
marching band re fus ed to yield. Do you re - call what was re-vealed, The day
the mu sic died? ------- ------------- -------------- We started singing

And there we were all in one place A gen- er- a- tion lost in space
With no time left to start again So come on Jack be nimble Jack be quick Jack
Flash sat on a candlestick Cause fire is the devil's on - ly
f-ri-end And as I wat- ched him on the stage My
hands were clenched in fists of rage No ang - el born in h - ell Could
break that satan's spell and as the flames climbed high in to the night To
light the sac - ri ficial rite I saw Satan laughing with delight. The day
the mu sic died --------- ---------- --------------- He was singing..

I met a girl who sang the blues and I asked her for some happy news but
she just smiled and turned a - w---a-- ay -------------
I went down to the sacred store where I'd heard the music years be - fore but the
man there--- said the mu-sic woul dn't play --------- -------------------- and
in the streets the child-ren screamed the lovers cried and the poets dreamed--but
not a word was spoken the church bells all were broken and the
three men I ad- mire most the Fa - ther, Son and the Ho - ly Ghost they
caught the last train to the coast the d--ay the mu------- sic-----
di--------------ed And they were singing...