10 Chords used in the song: G, D, Em7, Am, C, Em, A, Am7, D7, A7
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Transpose chords:
G
D
Em7
A long, long time ago,
Am
C
Em
D
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
G
D
Em7
And I know if I had my chance,
Am
C
Em
C
That I could make those people dance and maybe they'd be happy for
D
a while
Em
Am
Em
Am
But February made me shiver, with every paper I'd deliverC
G
Am
C
D
Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step
G
D
Em
Am7
D
I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed brideG
D
Em
Something touched me deep inside
C
D7
G
C
G
The day the music died
G
C
G
D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
G
C
G
D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
G
C
G
D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Em
A7
Em
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that
D7
I dieG
Am
Did you write the book of love
C
Am
Em
D
And do you have faith in god above, if the bible tells you so?G
D
Em
Do you believe in rock and roll
Am7
C
Em
Can music save your mortal soul and can you teach me how to
A7
D
dance real slow?
Em
D
Em
D
Well I know that you're in love with him 'cuz I saw you dancin' in the gym
C
G
A7
C
D7
You both kicked off your shoes, man I dig those rhythm and blues
G
D
Em
Am
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck with a pink carnation and
C
a pickup truck
G
D
Em
C
D7
G
C
G
But I knew I was out of luck the day the music died, I started singin'
G
C
G
D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
G
C
G
D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
G
C
G
D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Em
A7
Em
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that
D7
I die
G
Am
Now for ten years we've been on our own,
C
Am
Em
D
and moss grows fat on a rolling stone but that's not how it used to be
G
D
Em
When the jester sang for the king and queen
Am7
C
Em
in a coat he borrowed from James Dean in a voice that came from youA7
D
and me
Em
D
Em
D
And while the king was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown
C
G
A7
C
D7
The courtroom was adjourned, no verdict was returned
G
D
Em
Am
C
And while Lenin read a book on Marx, the quartet practiced in the park
G
D
Em
C
D7
G
C
G
And we sang dirges in the dark the day the music died, we were singin'
G
C
G
D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
G
C
G
D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
G
C
G
D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Em
A7
Em
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that
D7
I dieG
Am
Helter skelter in a summer swelterC
Am
Em
the birds flew off with a fallout shelter, eight miles high andD
fallin' fast
G
D
Em
It landed foul on the grass
Am7
C
Em
the players tried for a forward pass, with the jester on the
A7
D
sidelines in a cast
Em
D
Em
Now at halftime there was sweet perfume, while sergeants played a
D
marching TuneC
G
A7
C
D7
We all got up to dance, but we never got the chance
G
D
Em
Am
C
'Cuz the players tried to take the field, the marching band refused to yield
G
D
Em
C
D7
G
C
G
Do you recall what was the feel the day the music died, we started singin'
G
C
G
D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
G
C
G
D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
G
C
G
D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Em
A7
Em
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that
D7
I die
G
Am
And there we were all in one place,
C
Am
Em
D
a generation lost in space, with no time left to start again
G
D
Em
Am7
C
So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack Flash sat on a candle
Em
A7
D
stick, 'cuz fire is the devil's only friend
Em
D
Em
D
And as I watched him on the stage, my hands were clenched in fists of rage
C
G
A7
C
D7
No angel born in Hell could bread that Satan's spell
G
D
Em
Am
And as the flames climbed high into the night to light the
C
sacrificial rite
G
D
Em
C
D7
G
C
G
I saw Satan laughing with delight the day the music died, he was singin'
G
C
G
D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
G
C
G
D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
G
C
G
D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Em
A7
Em
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that
D7
I die
G
D
Em
I met a girl who sang the blues
Am
C
Em
And I asked her for some happy news, but she just smiled and turned
D
away
G
D
Em
I went down to the sacred store
Am
C
Em
Where I'd heard the music years before, but the man there said theC
D
music wouldn't play
Em
Am
Em
But in the streets the children screamed, the lovers cried and theAm
poets dreamed
C
G
Am
C
D
But not a word was spoken, the church bells all were broken
G
D
Em
Am7
C
D7
And the three men I admire most, the Father, Son, and the Holy GhostG
D
Em
Am7
D7
G
They caught the last train for the coast the day the music died,D7
And they were singin'
G
C
G
D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
G
C
G
D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
G
C
G
D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
C
D7
G
C
G
Singin' this will be the day that I die.
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About this song: American Pie
"American Pie" is a folk rock song by singer-songwriter Don McLean. Recorded and released on the American Pie album in 1971, the single was a number-one U.S. hit for four weeks in 1972. A re-release in 1991 did not chart in the U.S., but reached number 12 in the UK. The song is an abstract story surrounding "The Day the Music Died" -- the 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (Giles Perry Richardson, Jr.).