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 every paper I'd deliver

Bad news on the doorstep - I couldn't take one more step

I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride

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 drinking whiskey and rye, singing...

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 dancing in the gym

You both kicked off your shoes - man, I dig those rhythm and blues

I was a lonely, teenage broncin' buck with a pink carnation and a pickup truck, but...

I knew I was out of luck the day the music died


I started singing, bye bye Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry

Them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing...

This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die


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

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 singing, bye bye Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry

Them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing...

This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die


Healter Skealter in the summer swelter - the Birds flew off with a fallout shelter

Eight Miles High and falling 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 halftime air was sweet perfume while the Sergeants played a marching tune

We all got up to dance, oh, but we never got the chance

'Cause 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 singing, bye bye Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry

Them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing...

This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die


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 saw...

Satan laughing with delight the day the music died


He was singing, bye bye Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry

Them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing...

This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die


I met a girl who sang the Blues, and I asked her for some happy news

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 lover's 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 singing, bye bye Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry

Them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing...

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 ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing...

This'll 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 [From Algo Casi Perfecto]   American Pie [From Born on the 4th of July]   American Pie [Full Album Version]   American Pie [Long Version]   American Pie [Original 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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