American Pie
Don McLean • Key:
⭐ Official Master Chart
OLGA Archive
American Pie
Don McLean
A
G
long
D
long
Em7
time ago
Am
I can still re
C
member
how that
Em
music used to make me
D
smile And
G
I knew
D
if I had
Em7
my chance
that
Am
I could make those
C
people dance and
Em
maybe they'd be
C
happy for a
D
while.
Em
But February
Am
made me shiver
Em
With every paper
Am
I'd deliver
C
Bad news
G-B
on the
Am
doorstep I c
C
ouldn't take one
D
more step
I
G
can't re
D
member if I
Em
cried When I
Am7
read about his
D
widowed bride
But
G
something
D
touched me deep inside The
C
day the
D7
Music
G
Died
C-G
G
So
Chorus
G
bye
C
bye Miss A
G
merican
D
Pie Drove my
G
chevy to the
C
levy But the
G
levy was
D
dry
And them
G
good old
C
boys were drinking
G
whiskey and
D
rye
Singin'
Em
this'll be the day that I
A7
die
Em
this'll be the day that I
D7
die.
G
Did you write the
Am
book of love And do
C
you have faith in
Am
God above?
Em
If the Bible
D
tells you so. Do
G
you be
D
lieve in
Em
Rock 'n Roll?
Can
Am7
music save your
C
mortal soul? And
Em
can you teach me
A7
how to dance
D
real slow?
Well, I
Em
know that you're in
D
love with him 'cause I
Em
saw you dancin'
D
in the gym
You
C
both kicked
G-B
off your
A7
shoes Man, I
C
dig those rythmny
D7
blues
I was a
G
lonely
D
teenage
Em
broncin' buck With a
Am
pink carnation and a
C
pickup truck.
But
G
I knew
D
I was
Em
out of luck The
C
day the
D7
music
G
died
C
I started singin'
chorus
G
Now for ten years we've been
Am
on our own And
C
moss grows fat on a
Am
rollin' stone
Em
But that's not how it
D
used to be When the
G
jester
D
sang for the
Em
King and Queen
In a
Am7
coat he borrowed
C
from James Dean And a
Em
voice that
A7
came from
D
you and me
Oh, and
Em
while the King was
D
looking down The
Em
jester stole his
D
thorny crown
The
C
courtroom
G-B
was ad
A7
journed No
C
verdict was re
D7
turned
And while
G
Lennon
D
read a
Em
book of Marx The
Am
court kept practice
C
in the park
And
G
we sang
D
dirges
Em
in the dark The
C
day the
D7
Music
G
Died.
C
We were singing
chorus
G
Helter-Skelter in a
Am
summer
Am
swelter The
C
Byrds flew off with a
Am
fallout shelter
Em
Eight Miles High and
D
falling fast It
G
landed
D
foul out
Em
on the grass
The
Am7
players tried
C
for a forward pass But the
Em
jester's
A7
on the sidelines
D
in a cast
Now the
Em
half-time air was
D
sweet perfume While the
Em
sargeants played a
D
marching tune
C
We all
G-B
got up to
A7
dance But we
C
never got
D7
the chance
'cause the
G
players
D
tried to
Em
take the field The
Am
marching band re
C
fused to yield
G
Do you
D
recall
Em
what was reveiled the
C
day the
D7
Music
G
Died?
C
G
We stared singing
chorus
G
Oh, and there we were all
Am
in one place A
C
generation
Am
Lost in Space
Em
With no time left to
D
start again So come on,
G
Jack be nimble
Em
Jack be quick Jack
Am7
Flash sat on a
C
candlestick 'cause
Em
fire is the
A7
Devil's only
D
friend
Oh, and
Em
as I watched him
D
on the stage My
Em
hands were clenched in
D
fists of rage
C
No angel
G
born in
A7
hell Could
C
break that Satan's
D7
spell
And as the
G
flames climbed
D
high in
Em
to the night To
Am
light the sacri
C
fical rite
I saw
G
Satan
D
laughing
Em
with delight The
C
day the
D7
Music
G
Died
C
G
He was singing
chorus
I
G
met a girl who sang the
Am
blues And I
C
asked her for some
Am
happy news
But
Em
she just smiled and turned
D
away I
G
went down to the sacred
D
store
Where I'd
Em
heard the music
Am7
years before But the
Em
man there said the
A7
music woudn't
D
play
And in the
Em
streets the children
D
screamed The
Em
lovers cried, and the poets
D
dreamed
C
But not a
G
word was
A7
spoken The
C
Church bells all were
D7
broken
And
G
three men I
D
admire most The
Em
Father,
Am
Son and the
C
Holy Ghost
They
G
caught the
D
last train
Em
for the coast The
C
Day the
D7
Music
G
Died.
C
G
And they were singing
chorus
They were singing
chorus
Speed