American Pie

A long, long time ago,

 

I can still remember how that music used to make me smile

 

And I know 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

 

 

 

Chorus

 

So bye, bye Miss American Pie

 

Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry

 

And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

 

Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

 

 

Verse

 

Did you write the book of love

 

And do you have faith in god above, if the bible tells you so?

 

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 'cuz I saw you dancin' 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 singin'

 

 

Chorus

 

So bye, bye Miss American Pie

 

Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry

 

And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

 

Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

 

 

 

Verse

 

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

And while the king was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown

The courtroom was adjourned, no verdict was returned

And while Lenin 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'

 

 

 

Chorus

 

So bye, bye Miss American Pie

 

Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry

 

And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

 

Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

 

 

Verse

 

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 at halftime there was sweet perfume, while sergeants played a marching

Tune

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

'Cuz the players tried to take the field, the marching band refused to yield

Do you recall what was the feel the day the music died, we started singin'

 

 

Chorus

 

So bye, bye Miss American Pie

 

Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry

 

And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

 

Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

 

 

 

Verse

 

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, 'cuz 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 bread 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'

 

 

Chorus

 

So bye, bye Miss American Pie

 

Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry

 

And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

 

Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

 

 

 

Last vrse

 

 

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

 

But 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'

 

 

Final chorus

So bye, bye Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry

 

And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

 

Singin' this will be the day that I die.