American Pie

Don McLean

1. A long, long time ago,
   I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
   And I know if I had my chance,
   That I could make those people dance and maybe they'd be happy for a while
   But February made me shiver, with every paper I'd deliver
   Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step
   I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride
   Something touched me deep inside
   The day the music died

R: So bye, bye Miss American Pie
   Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
   And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
   Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

2. Did you write the book of love
   And do you have faith in god above, if the bible tells you so?
   Do you believe in rock and roll
   Can music save your mortal soul and can you teach me how to dance real slow?
   Well I know that you're in love with him  'cuz I saw you dancin' in the gym
   You both kicked off your shoes, man I dig those rhythm and blues
   I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck with a pink carnation and a pickup truck
   But I knew I was out of luck the day the music died, I started singin'
R:

3. Now for ten years we've been on our own,
   and moss grows fat on a rolling stone but that's not how it used to be
   When the jester sang for the king and queen
   in a coat he borrowed from James Dean in a voice that came from you and me
   And while the king was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown
   The courtroom was adjourned, no verdict was returned
   And while Lenin read a book on Marx, the quartet practiced in the park
   And we sang dirges in the dark the day the music died, we were singin'
R:

   Helter skelter in a summer swelter
   the birds flew off with a fallout shelter, eight miles high and fallin' fast
   It landed foul on the grass
   the players tried for a forward pass, with the jester on the sidelines in cast
   Now at halftime there was sweet perfume, while sergeants played a marching
   We all got up to dance, but we never got the chance
   'Cuz the players tried to take the field, the marching band refused to yield
   Do you recall what was the feel the day the music died, we started singin'
R:

4. And there we were all in one place,
   a generation lost in space, with no time left to start again
   stick, 'cuz fire is the devil's only friend
   And as I watched him on the stage, my hands were clenched in fists of rage
   No angel born in Hell could bread that Satan's spell
   And as the flames climbed high into the night to light the sacrificial rite
   I saw Satan laughing with delight the day the music died, he was singin'
R:

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

R: (2x)