American Pie

Don McLean


A long long time ago, I can still remember 
How that music used to make me smile 
And I knew 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 ev'ry paper I'd deliver 
Bad news on the door step 
I couldn't take one more step 
I can't remember if I creid 
When I read about this widowed bride 
Something touched me deep inside 
The day the music died, so 

*Bye bye Miss American Pie 
Drove my chevy to the levy 
But the levy was dry 
Then good old boys 
Were drinkin' whiskey and rye 
Singin' this'll be the day that I die 
This'll be the day that I die 

Did you write the book of love 
And do you have faith in god above 
If the bible tells you so 
Now 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 
'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym 
You both kicked off your shoes 
Then I digged those rhythm and blues 
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck 
With a pink carnation and a pick up truck 
But I knew I was out of luck 
The day the music died, I started singing 

(Repeat *) 

Now for ten years we've been on our own 
And moss grows fat on a rollin' 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 
And a voice that came from you and me 
Oh and while the king was looking down 
The jester stole his thorny crown 
The courtroom was adjourned 
No vredict was returned 
And while Lenin read a book on Marx 
A quartet practised in the park 

And we sang digges in the dark 
The day the music died, we were singin' 

(Repeat *) 

Helter Skelter in a summer swelter 
The birds fiew off with a fallout shelter 
Eight miles high and fallin'fast 
Plant a flower on the grass 
The players tried for a forward pass 
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast 
Now the half-time air was sweet perfume 
While the sergeants played a marching tune 
We all got up to dance 
But we never got a chance 
'Cause the players tried to take the field 
The marching banmd refused to yield 
Do you recall what was revealed 
The day the music died, we started singin' 

(Repeat *) 

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 
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 was satan laughing with delight 
The day the music died, he was singin', 

(Repeat *) 

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 men there said 
The music wouldn't play 
But in the streets the children screamed 
The lovers cried and the poets dreamed 
But not a world was spoken 
The church bells all were broken 
And the three man I admire most 
The father son and holly ghost 
They caught the last train for the coast 
The day the music died 
And they were snigin' 

(Repeat *) 


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