LyricMeaning

American Pie [Original Version]
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 every paper I delivered,
Bad news on the door step,
I couldn't take one more step,

I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside,
The day, the music, died.
So

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey 'n' rye
Singin this will be the day that I die.
This will 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.
And do you believe in rock 'n' 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
And I dig those rhythm and blues.

I was a lonely teenage bronkin' 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 singin

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey 'n' rye
Singin this will be the day that I die.
This will be the day that I die.

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 verdict was returned.

And while Lennon 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'

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey 'n' rye
Singin this will be the day that I die.
This will be the day that I die.

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 the half-time air was sweet perfume
While the sergeants played a marching tune.
We all got up to dance
Oh but we never got the chance.

As the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield.
Do you recall what was revealed,
the day, the music, died?
We started singin'

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey 'n' rye
Singin this will be the day that I die.
This will 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 candle stick
Because fire is the devils only friend.

Oh and as I watched him on the stage,
My hands were clinched 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 ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey 'n' rye
Singin this will be the day that I die.
This will be the day that I die.

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.

And in the streets the children screamed,
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed.
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'

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey 'n' rye
Singin this will be the day that I die.
This will be the day that I die.

They were singin'

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey 'n' rye
Singin' this will be the day that I die.


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Lyrics by Don McLean

  (Take Me Back to My) Boots and Saddles   1967   A Brand New World   Addicted To Black   Aftermath   Aftermath [*]   Aftermath [#]   American Pie   American Pie [From Algo Casi Perfecto]   American Pie [From Born on the 4th of July]   American Pie [Full Album Version]   American Pie [Long Version]   American Pie [Version]   American Pie Pt. 1   American Pie, Pt. 1   American Pie, Pt. 1-2   American Pie, Pts. 1 & 2   American Pie, Pts. 1-2   Among My Souvenirs   Ancient History   And I Love You   And I Love You [Live]   And I Love You So   Angry Words   Babylon   Babylon [Live]   Bad Girl   Believers   Birthday Song   Blue Christmas   Bronco Bill's Lament   Bronco Bill's Lament   Building My Body   Burgundian Carol   Castles In The Air   Castles in the Air (Three Flights Up)   Castles in the Air [Mediarts Version]   Castles in the Air [Millenium Version]   Castles in the Air [Retake]   Chain Lightning   Circus Song   Color TV Blues   Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)   Crazy   Crazy Eyes   Crossroads   Crying   Crying [Original Recording]   Crying In The Chapel   Devil Woman   Did You Know   Don't Burn The Bridge   Don't Burn The Bridge   Dream Lover   Dream Lover [#][*]   Dreidel   Dreidel [Live]   Dreidle   El Paso   Empty Chairs   Every Day   Everybody Loves Me Baby   Everybody Loves Me, Baby   Everyday   Falling Through Time   Fashion Victim   Flight Of Dragons   Fool's Paradise   Fool's Paradise (Single Version)   Fool's Paradise (Single Version)   General Store   Genesis (In The Beginning)   Go Tell It on the Mountain   God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen   Great Big Man   Happy Trails   Have You Seen Me   Headroom   Hit Parade Of Love   Homeless Brother   Hush Little Baby   I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day   I Was Always Young   I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome (Blue & Lonesome Too)   If We Try   If We Try [Slow Version]   If You Could Read My Mind   If You Could Read My Mind [*]   If Youn Could Read My Mind   Infinity   Isn't It Strange   It Came Upon a Midnight Clear   It Doesn't Matter Anymore   It Had to Be You   It Was a Very Good Year   It's A Beautiful Life   It's Just The Sun   It's A Beautiful Life   It's Just The Sun   Jerusalem   Jump   Kaw-Liga   La I Love You   La La I Love You   La La Love You   La Love You   Left For Dead On The Road Of Love   Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!   Little Cowboy   Love Hurts   Love Letters   Love Me   Love Me Tender   Lovers Love The Spring   Lovesick Blues   Magdalene Lane   Magdalene Lane [Live]   Maybe Baby   Miss American Pie   Mother Nature   Mother Nature [*]   Mother Nature [#]   Narcisissma   No Reason For Your Dreams   O Little Town Of Bethlehem   Oh My What A Shame   On The Amazon   One In A Row   Orphans Of Wealth   Pretty Paper   Prime Time   Promise To Remember   Raining in My Heart   Respectable   Ribbon of Darkness   Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer   Santa Claus Is Coming to Town   Sea Cruise   Sea Man   Siamese Twins   Siamese Twins (Joined at the Heart)   Silent Night   Since I Don't Have You   Since I Don't Have You   Sister Fatima   Sitting On Top Of The World   Someone to Watch over Me   South of the Border   Stardust   Starry Starry Night   Superman's Ghost   Superman's Ghost   Tapestry   That's All Right   That's All Right   The Birthday Song   The Christmas Song   The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open ...   The Christmas Waltz   The Grave   The More You Pay   The Pattern Is Broken   The Pride Parade   The River of Love   The Story of My Life   The Three Of Us   The Very Thought of You   The Wrong Thing to Do   This Little Girl (Daddy-O)   This Old Man   Three Flights Up   Till the Swelling Goes Down   Till Tomorrow   Timber Trail   Time Goes By   To Have And To Hold   Toyland   Turkey in the Straw [#]   Vincent   Vincent (Starry Starry Night)   Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)   Vincent [Live]   What Will the World Be Like   When a Good Thing Goes Bad   When Love Begins   Where Have All the Flowers Gone?   Where Were You Baby?   White Christmas   Winter Has Me In Its Grip   Winterwood   Wonderful Baby   Wonderful Baby [Live]   Wonderful Night   Words And Music   You Gave Me a Mountain   You Gave Me a Mountain   You Have Lived   You Who Love the Truth   Your Cheatin' Heart   Your Cheatin' Heart   Your Cheating Heart

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