Song
Instruments
Key:
+0 
Options

American Pie

GoChords.com

G
D
Em

A long long time ago

Am
C

I can still remember how

D
D7

That music used to make me smile

G
D
Em

And I knew if I had my chance

C

That I could make those people dance

C
D

And maybe they'd be happy for a while

Em
Am

But February made me shiver

Em
Am

With every paper I'd deliver

C
G

Bad news on the doorstep

C
D

I couldn't take one more step

G
D
Em

I can't remember if I cried

Am
D

When I read about his widowed bride

G
D
Em

Something touched me deep inside

C
D7
G

The day the music died

So

G
C
G
D

Bye, bye Miss American Pie

G
C
G
D

Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry

G
C
G
D

And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye

Em
A7

Singin' this'll be the day that I die

Em
D

This'll be the day that I die

G
Am

Did you write the book of love

C
Am
Em

And do you have faith in God above

D
D7

If the Bible tells you so?

G
D
Em

Do you believe in rock and roll?

Am
C

Can music save your mortal soul?

Em
A7
D

And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Em
D

Well, I know that you're in love with him

Em
D

'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym

C
G

You both kicked off your shoes

C
D7

Man, I dig those rhythm and blues

G
D
Em

I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck

Am
C

With a pink carnation and a pickup truck

G
D
Em

But I knew I was out of luck

C
D7
G

The day the music died

I started singin'

G
C
G
D

Bye, bye Miss American Pie

G
C
G
D

Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry

G
C
G
D

And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye

Em
A7

Singin' this'll be the day that I die

D
D7

This'll be the day that I die

G
Am
C

Now, for ten years we've been on our own

Am
Em
D

And moss grows fat on a rolling stone

D7

But, that's not how it used to be

G
D
Em

When the jester sang for the king and queen

Am
C

In a coat he borrowed from James Dean

Em
A7
D

And a voice that came from you and me

Em
D

Oh and while the king was looking down

Em
D

The jester stole his thorny crown

C
G
A7

The courtroom was adjourned

C
D7

No verdict was returned

G
D
Em

And while Lennon read a book on Marx

Am
C

The quartet practiced in the park

G
D
C

And we sang dirges in the dark

D7
G

The day the music died

D

We were singin'

G
C
G
D

Bye, bye Miss American Pie

G
C
G
D

Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry

G
C
G
D

Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye

Em
A7

And singin' this'll be the day that I die

Em
D
D7

This'll be the day that I die

G
Am
C

Helter skelter in a summer swelter

Am
Em

The birds flew off with a fallout shelter

D
D7

Eight miles high and falling fast

G
D

It landed foul on the grass

Am
C

The players tried for a forward pass

Em
A7
D

With the jester on the sidelines in a cast

Em
D

Now the half-time air was sweet perfume

Em
D

While sergeants played a marching tune

C
G

We all got up to dance

A7
C
D7

Oh, but we never got the chance

G
D
Em

'Cause the players tried to take the field

Am
C

The marching band refused to yield

G
D
Em

Do you recall what was revealed

C
D7
G

The day the music died?

D

We started singin'

G
C
G
D

Bye, bye Miss American Pie

G
C
G
D

Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry

G
C
G
D

Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye

Em
A7
Em

And singin' this'll be the day that I die

D
D7

This'll be the day that I die

Oh, and there we were all in one place

A generation 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 only friend

Oh and as I watched him on the stage

My hands were clenched in fists of rage

No angel born in Hell

Could break 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'

Bye, bye Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry

Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye

Singin' this'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die

G
D
Em

I met a girl who sang the blues

Am
C

And I asked her for some happy news

Em
D
D7

But she just smiled and turned away

G
D
Em

I went down to the sacred store

Am
C

Where I'd heard the music years before

Em
C
D

But the man there said the music wouldn't play

Em
Am

And in the streets the children screamed

Em
Am

The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed

C
G
Am

But not a word was spoken

C
D

The church bells all were broken

G
D
Em

And the three men I admire most

Am
D

The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost

G
D
Em

They caught the last train for the coast

C
D7
G

The day the music died

D

And they were singing

G
C
G
D

Bye, bye Miss American Pie

G
C
G
D

Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry

G
C
G
D

And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye

C
D
G

Singin' this'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die

They were singing

Bye, bye Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry

Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye

Singin' this'll be the day that I die

BPM
Scroll Speed:
Stopped
Zoom: 100%
Get everything that GoChords has to offer — Upgrade Now