American Pie chords by Don Mclean (Ver. 4)

American Pie - Guitar Chords
-------------------------

 G   D  Em7
A long, long time ago,

Am      C        Em          D
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile

  G   D  Em7
And I know if I had my chance,

   Am         C        Em       C      D
That I could make those people dance and maybe they'd be 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      Am7      D
I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride

G     D     Em
Something touched me deep inside

  C    D7  G  C  G
The day the music died



CHORUS

  G  C    G    D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie

     G      C      G    D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry

     G    C         G      D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

    Em             A7  Em             D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die


VERSE

G         Am
Did you write the book of love

    C         Am     Em      D
And do you have faith in god above, if the bible tells you so?

G   D     Em
Do you believe in rock and roll

  Am7      C           Em           A7    D
Can music save your mortal soul and can you teach me how to dance real slow?

    Em         D           Em       D
Well I know that you're in love with him 'cuz I saw you dancin' 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 broncin' buck with a pink carnation and a pickup truck

  G   D   Em       C    D7  G C G
But I knew I was out of luck the day the music died, I started singin'


CHORUS

  G  C    G    D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie

     G      C      G    D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry

     G    C         G      D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

    Em             A7  Em             D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die



VERSE

     G          Am
Now for ten years we've been on our own,
   C          Am     Em           D
and moss grows fat on a rolling stone but that's not how it used to be
     G   D       Em
When the jester sang for the king and queen
   Am7        C          Em           A7   D
in a coat he borrowed from James Dean in a voice that came from you and me
   Em         D        Em         D
And while the king was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown
   C    G     A7  C       D7
The courtroom was adjourned, no verdict was returned
     G    D  Em        Am        C
And while Lenin 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, we were singin'



CHORUS

  G  C    G    D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie

     G      C      G    D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry

     G    C         G      D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

    Em             A7  Em             D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die


VERSE

G          Am
Helter skelter in a summer swelter
C           Am         Em          D
the birds flew off with a fallout shelter, eight miles high and fallin' fast
   G  D   Em
It landed foul on the grass
   Am7        C      Em               A7  D
the players tried for a forward pass, with the jester on the sidelines in
A cast
     Em        D          Em         D
Now at halftime there was sweet perfume, while sergeants played a marching
Tune
C     G    A7   C         D7
We all got up to dance, but we never got the chance
     G   D     Em         Am       C
'Cuz the players tried to take the field, the marching band refused to yield
  G  D     Em       C    D7    G C G
Do you recall what was the feel the day the music died, we started singin'


CHORUS

  G  C    G    D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie

     G      C      G    D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry

     G    C         G      D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

    Em             A7  Em             D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die



VERSE

   G        Am
And there we were all in one place,
  C    Am      Em          D
a generation lost in space, with no time left to start again
      G    D  Em        Am7         C
So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack Flash sat on a candle
    Em              A7   D
stick, 'cuz fire is the devil's only friend
   Em        D        Em           D
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 bread 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, he was singin'


CHORUS

  G  C    G    D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie

     G      C      G    D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry

     G    C         G      D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

    Em             A7  Em             D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die



LAST VERSE


 G   D    Em
I met a girl who sang the blues

   Am         C        Em             D
And I asked her for some happy news, but she just smiled and turned away

 G     D   Em
I went down to the sacred store
     Am       C           Em         C
Where I'd heard the music years before, but the man there said the music
     D
wouldn't play

  Em         Am           Em          Am
But in the streets 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       Am7   C      D7
And the three men I admire most, the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost

G        D     Em        Am7   D7  G
They caught the last train for the coast the day the music died,

D7
And they were singin'


FINAL CHORUS
  G  C    G    D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
     G      C      G    D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry

     G    C         G      D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye

    C        D7     G  C  G
Singin' this will be the day that I die.