SOL RE MIm7
A long, long time ago,
LAm DO MIm RE
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
SOL RE MIm7
And I know if I had my chance,
LAm DO MIm DO RE
That I could make those people dance and maybe they'd be happy for a while
MIm LAm MIm LAm
But February made me shiver, with every paper I'd deliver
DO SOL LAm DO RE
Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step
SOL RE MIm LAm7 RE
I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride
SOL RE MIm
Something touched me deep inside
DO RE7 SOL DO SOL
The day the music died
Chorus
SOL DO SOL RE
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
SOL DO SOL RE
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
SOL DO SOL RE
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
MIm LA7 MIm RE7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
*Verse*
SOL LAm
Did you write the book of love
DO LAm MIm RE
And do you have faith in god above, if the bible tells you so?
SOL RE MIm
Do you believe in rock and roll
LAm7 DO MIm LA7 RE
Can music save your mortal soul and can you teach me how to dance real slow?
MIm RE MIm RE
Well I know that you're in love with him 'cuz I saw you dancin' in the gym
DO SOL LA7 DO RE7
You both kicked off your shoes, man I dig those rhythm and blues
SOL RE MIm LAm DO
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck with a pink carnation and a pickup truck
SOL RE MIm DO RE7 SOL DO SOL
But I knew I was out of luck the day the music died, I started singin'
Chorus
*Other verses*
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'
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
a cast
Now at halftime there was sweet perfume, while sergeants played a marching
tune
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'
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 candle 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'
*Last verse*
SOL RE MIm
I met a girl who sang the blues
LAm DO MIm RE
And I asked her for some happy news, but she just smiled and turned away
SOL RE MIm
I went down to the sacred store
(G) (Am) (G) (C) (Em)
LAm DO MIm DO
Where I'd heard the music years before, but the man there said the music
RE
wouldn't play
MIm LAm MIm LAm
But in the streets the children screamed, the lovers cried and the poets
REreamed
DO SOL LAm DO RE
But not a word was spoken, the church bells all were broken
(G)
SOL RE MIm LAm7 DO RE7
And the three men I admire most, the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
SOL RE MIm LAm7 RE7 SOL
They caught the last train for the coast the day the music died,
RE7
And they were singin'
*Final Chorus*
SOL DO SOL RE
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
SOL DO SOL RE
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
SOL DO SOL RE
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
DO RE7 SOL DO SOL
Singin' this will be the day that I die.
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