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Don Mclean - American Pie chords

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#-------------------------------PLEASE NOTE-------------------------------------#
# This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the #
# song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. #
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
American Pie chords
Don McLean

  G     D    Em      
A long, long time ago,   
Am            C                Em            D
I can still remember, how that music used to make me smile.
    G           D      Em           Am                 C  
And I knew if I had my chance, that I could make those people dance,
    Em              C           D
and maybe they'd by happy for a while.
    Em       Am                   Em          Am            
But February made me shiver, with every paper I'd deliver.  
C        G      Am          C             D         
Bad news on the doorstep; I couldn't take one more step  
  G       D      Em                 Am             D
I can't remember if I cried, when I read about his widowed bride;
G         D          Em               C       D7    G   C G
something touched me deep inside, the day the music died. 
 
    G   C         G        D             G            C            
So, bye-bye, Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee but the 
G         D         G        C                  G           D     
levee was dry. Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing
Em                        A7   Em                        D7
this'll be the day that I die, this'll be the day that I die.

G                 Am,                  C                 Am      
Did you write the book of love, and do you have faith in God above, 
       Em    D                     G     D        Em                 
if the Bible tells you so?  Now do you believe in rock and roll,  
    Am              C                 Em                      A7         D7
can music save your mortal soul?  And can you teach me how to dance real slow?
       Em                  Am                      Em              Am         
Well I know that you're in love with him, 'cause I saw you dancing 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                   C
I was a lonely teenage bronching buck, with a pink carnation and a pick-up truck.
      G    D     Em              C        D7    G  C G 
But I knew I was out of luck the day, the music died. 
G         D7
I started singing....     

G   C         G        D             G            C            
Bye-bye, Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee but the 
G         D         G        C                  G           D     
levee was dry. Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing
Em                        A7   Em                        D7
this'll be the day that I die, this'll be the day that I die.

        G                     Am              C                   Am      
Now for ten years, we've been on our own; and moss grows fat on a rolling stone,
    Em                        D            G      D            Em  
but that's not how it used to be. When the jester sang for the King and 
            Am               C                      Em                   A7      D7
Queen, in a coat he borrowed from James Dean, and a voice that came from you and me

        Em                 Am                Em               Am  
Oh, and while the king was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown;
    C          G     A7          C             D7     
the court room was adjourned, no verdict was returned.
          G      D      Em                Am                C
And while Lennon 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, 
        D7
we were singing      

G   C         G        D             G            C            
Bye-bye, Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee but the 
G         D         G        C                  G           D     
levee was dry. Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing
Em                        A7   Em                        D7
this'll be the day that I die, this'll be the day that I die..
[ Tab from: http://www.guitaretab.com/d/don-mclean/290284.html ]
G              Am                         C                     Am      
Helter skelter in the summer swelter, the birds flew off with a fallout shelter;
Em                           D        G      D    Em 
eight miles high and falling fast. It landed foul on the grass,
    Am                  C                      Em                      A7   D7
the players tried for a forward pass; with the jester on the sidelines in a cast
    Em                Am                       Em                 Am 
The half time air was sweet perfume, while the sergeants played a marching tune;
   C       G     A7            C             D7     
we all got up to dance, but we never got the chance. 'Cause 
    G       D        Em                      Am              C
the players tried to take the field, but the marching band refused to yield
   G     D         Em                C       D7    G  C  G 
Do you recall what was revealed, the day the music died?
           D7
We started singing      
 
G   C         G        D             G            C            
Bye-bye, Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee but the 
G         D         G        C                  G           D     
levee was dry. Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing
Em                        A7   Em                        D7
this'll be the day that I die, this'll be the day that I die..

        G                 Am              C          Am      
Oh, and there we were all in one place, a generation lost in space;
     Em                      D                 G       D       Em 
with no time left, to start again. So come on, Jack be nimble, jack be quick,
Am                  C                   Em          A7           D7
Jack flash sat on a candlestick, 'cause fire is the devil's only friend.
    Em               Am               Em                     Am  
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 break that Satan’s spell
           G              D      Em               Am             C
And as the flames climbed high into the night, to light the sacrificial rite;
      G     D        Em                C       D7    G   C G 
I saw Satan laughing with delight, the day the music died.    
        D7
We were singing     
 
G   C         G        D             G            C            
Bye-bye, Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee but the 
G         D         G        C                  G           D     
levee was dry. Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing
Em                        A7   Em                        D7
this'll be the day that I die, this'll be the day that I die..

  G     D        Em                
I met a girl who sang the blues so,
  Am                 C               Em                  D 
I asked her for some happy news; but she just smiled and turned away.
G      D           Em                    Am              C 
I went down to the sacred store, where I heard the music years before,
        Em                 C              D         Em
but the man there said the music wouldn't play. And in the streets
    Am                      Em                  Am    
the children screamed, the lovers cried and the poets dreamed.
    C     G        Am          C                     D 
But not a word was spoken, the church bells all were broken.
        G         D   Em             Am                  D  
And the three men I admire most: the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
G               D          Em                C        D7    G   
They caught the last train for the coast the day, the music died.
              D7                              
And they were singing

G   C         G        D             G            C            
Bye-bye, Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee but the 
G         D         G        C                  G           D     
levee was dry. Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing
Em                        A7   Em                        D7
this'll be the day that I die, this'll be the day that I die.. 

              D7                              
And they were singing

G   C         G        D             G            C            
Bye-bye, Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee but the 
G         D         G        C                  G           D     
levee was dry. Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing
C              D7         G   C G   
this'll be the day that I die


Set8
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