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American Pie
Don
McLean
| Chorus
Strum: D D U D
D U 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + |
Folk Strum:
D D U U D U 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + |
|
Chord Guide |
|||
|
3 4 G: 3x0003 |
132 D: xx0232 |
1 Em7:
020000 |
231 Am: x02210 |
|
32 1 C: x32010 |
12 Em: 022000 |
213 D7: xx0212 |
1 2 A7: x02020 |
|
2 1 Am7: x02010 |
|||
Verse
1 (hold each chord):
(½) (½)
A [G]long [D] long [Em7] time ago [Am] I can still re[C]member
(2) (½) (½)
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
(2)
[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
(½) (½)
deliver
[C]Bad news [G]on the [Am]doorstep I
c[C]ouldn't take one
(½)
(½)
[D]more step I [G]can't re[D]member if I [Em]cried
When I [Am7]read
(½) (½) (2)
about
his [D]widowed bride. But [G]something [D]touched me [Em]deep
(2)
inside
The [C]day the [D7]Music [G]Died
Chorus:
(½)
(½) (½) (½) (½)
[G]bye [C]bye Miss A[G]merican [D]Pie Drove my [G]Chevy to the
(½) (½) (½) (½) (½)
[C]levy But the [G]levy was [D]dry. And them [G]good old [C]boys were
(½) (½)
drinking [G]whiskey
and [D]rye. Singin' [Em hold]this'll be the day that
(2)
I [Am
hold]die [Em hold]this'll be the
day that I [D7 riff]die.
Verse
2 (w/ Folk Strum):
[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. [D
riff] Do
(½) (½)
[G]you be[D]lieve in [Em]Rock 'n
Roll? Can [Am7]music save your
(2)
[C]mortal soul? And [Em]can you teach me [A7]how to dance [D]real
slow?
Well,
I [Em hold]know that you're in [D hold]love with him 'cause I [Em
(½) (½)
hold]saw you dancin' [D hold]in the gym. You [C]both
kicked [G]off your
(½) (½)
[D] shoes Man, I [C]dig those [G] rhythm and [D7]blues. I was a
(½) (½)
[G]lonely [D]teenage [Em]broncin'
buck With a [Am]pink carnation and a
(½) (½)
[C]pickup truck. But [G]I knew [D]I was [Em]out of luck
The [C]day the
(½) (½) (½) (½)
[D7]music [G]died [C] [G] I started [D7]singin'
Chorus
Verse
3 (w/ Folk Strum):
[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
(½) (½)
[D
riff] 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. [D riff]
Oh,
and [Em hold]while the King was [D hold]looking down The [Em
(½) (½)
hold]jester stole his [D
hold]thorny crown The [C]courtroom [G] was
(½)
ad[D]journed No [C]verdict was re[D7]turned
And while [G]Lennon
(½)
[D]read a [Em]book of Marx The [Am]court
kept practice [C]in the park.
(½)
(½)
And
[G]we sang [D]dirges [Em]in the
dark The [C]day the [D7]Music
(½) (½) (½) (½)
[G]Died. [C] [G] We were
[D7]singin'
Chorus
Verse
4 (w/ Folk Strum):
[G]Helter-Skelter in a [Am]summer swelter The [C]Byrds flew off with a
[Am]fallout shelter. [Em]Eight
Miles High and [D]falling fast
(½) (½)
[D
riff] 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. [D riff]
Now
the [Em hold]half-time air was [D hold]sweet perfume While the [Em
(½) (½)
hold]sergeants played a [D hold]marching tune [C]We
all got [G]up to
(½)
[D]dance But we [C]never got [D7]the chance. 'cause the [G]players
(½)
[D]tried to [Em]take the field The [Am]marching band re[C]fused to
(½) (½)
yield. Do you [G]
re[D]call what [Em]was reveiled the [C]day the
(½) (½) (½) (½)
[D7]Music [G]Died? [C] [G] We started [D7]singin'
Chorus
Verse
5 (w/ Folk Strum):
Oh,
and [G]there we were all [Am]in one place A [C]generation
[Am]Lost in Space [Em]With no time left to [D]start again [D riff]
So
come on, [G]Jack be nimble. [Em]Jack
be quick Jack [Am7]Flash sat
(2)
on
a [C]candlestick 'cause [Em]fire is the [A7]Devil's only [D]friend
Oh,
and [Em hold]as I watched him [D hold]on the stage My [Em
(½) (½)
hold]hands were clenched in [D hold]fists of rage [C]No
angel [G]born in
(½)
[D]hell Could [C]break that Satan's [D7]spell And as the [G]flames
(½)
climbed
[D]high in[Em]to the night To [Am]light
the sacri[C]fical rite. I
(½)
(½)
saw
[G]Satan [D]laughing [Em]with delight The [C]day the [D7]Music
(½) (½) (½) (½)
[G]Died [C] [G] He was [D7]singin'
Chorus
Verse
6 (hold each chord):
(½) (½)
I [G]met a [D]girl who sang the [Em]blues
And I [Am]asked her for some
(2) (½)
[C]happy news. But [Em]she
just smiled and turned [D]away I [G]went
(½)
down
[D]to the sacred [Em7]store. Where I'd [Am]heard
the music
[C]years before But the [Em]man there said the [A7]music wouldn't
(2)
[D]play.
And
in the [Em]streets the children [Am]screamed The [Em]lovers cried,
(½) (½)
and
the poets [Am]dreamed. But [C]not
a [G]word was [Am]spoken The
(½) (½)
[C]Church bells all were [D7]broken And [G]three men [D]I
ad[Em]mire most The [Am7]Father, Son and the [G]Holy
Ghost. They
(½) (½)
[G]caught the [D]last train [Em]for the coast The [C]Day
the [D7]Music
[G]Died. And they were singing
Chorus
(continue
Chorus Strum)
They
were singing
(½) (½) (½) (½) (½)
[G]bye [C]bye Miss A[G]merican [D]Pie Drove my [G]Chevy to the
(½) (½) (½) (½) (½)
[C]levy But the [G]levy was [D]dry. And them [G]good old [C]boys were
(½) (½) (½) (½)
drinking
[G]whiskey and [D]rye. Singin' [G]this'll be the [D]day
(½) (½)
that
I [G hold]die [C hold] [G hold]
This file is the author's own work and represents his interpretation of this song. It's intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.
