Song: American Pie (Live).
Artist: Don McLean
Album: American Pie (1971).
Tempo: Allegro.
Time: 4/4
Tabbed: rikigo
URL's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr-BYVeCv6U;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_McLean
Tuning: Standard.
Chords:
EADGBe
G (320003@1) === 320003
D/F# (200232@1) === 200232
Em7 === 020000
Am (x02210@1) === X02210
C (x32010@1) === 332010
Em (022000@1) === 022000
D (xx0232@1) === XX0232
Dsus4 === XX0233
Dsus2 === XX0230
G/B (143121@7) === X20003
Am7 (x02010@1) === X02010
D7 (xx0212@1) === XX0212
A7 (x02020@1) === X02020
Intro (Sung with Piano only):
NC G (320003@1) D/F# (200232@1)Em7
A long, long time ago,
Am (x02210@1) C (x32010@1) Em (022000@1) D (xx0232@1) Dsus4 (xx0233@1)name="chord_xx0232@1">D Dsus2 (xx0230@1)name="chord_xx0232@1">D
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile.
G (320003@1) D/F# (200232@1) Em7
And I knew if I had my chance,
Am (x02210@1) C (x32010@1)
That I could make those people dance,
Em (022000@1) C (x32010@1) D (xx0232@1) Dsus4 (xx0233@1)name="chord_xx0232@1">D Dsus2 (xx0230@1)name="chord_xx0232@1">D
And maybe they'd be happy for awhile. (x02210@1)
Em (022000@1) Am (x02210@1) Em (022000@1) AmBut (x02210@1)February made me shiver, with every paper I'd deliver.
C (x32010@1) G/B (143121@7) Am (x02210@1) C (x32010@1) DBad (xx0232@1)news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step.
G (320003@1) D/F# (200232@1) Em (022000@1) Am7 (x02010@1) DI (xx0232@1)can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride,
G (320003@1) D (xx0232@1) EmSomething (022000@1)touched me deep inside.
C (x32010@1) D7 (xx0212@1) G (320003@1) C (x32010@1)
The day the music died.
"Sing it for us, loud and clear"
Chorus 1:
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DSo (xx0232@1)bye, bye Miss American Pie,
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DDrove (xx0232@1)my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry.
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) D/F#And (200232@1)them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye,
Em (022000@1) A7 (x02020@1)
Singin' "This will be the day that I die,
Em (022000@1) D7This (xx0212@1)will be the day that I die."
Verse 1:
G (320003@1) Am (x02210@1)
Did you write the book of love,
C (x32010@1) Am (x02210@1)
And do you have faith in God above,
Em (022000@1) DIf (xx0232@1)the Bible tells you so?
G (320003@1) D/F# (200232@1) EmNow (022000@1)do you believe in rock and roll?
Am7 (x02010@1) C (x32010@1)
Can music save your mortal soul?
Em (022000@1) A7 (x02020@1) D (xx0232@1) D7And (xx0212@1)can you teach me how to dance real slow?
Em (022000@1) D (xx0232@1)
Well I know that you're in love with him,
Em (022000@1) D'Cause (xx0232@1)I saw you dancin' in the gym.
C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) A7 (x02020@1) C (x32010@1) D7You (xx0212@1)both kicked off your shoes, man I dig those rhythm and blues.
G (320003@1) D/F# (200232@1) Em (022000@1) Am (x02210@1) CI (x32010@1)was a lonely teenage broncin' buck with a pink carnation and a pickup truck.
G (320003@1) D/F# (200232@1)Em (022000@1) C (x32010@1) D7 (xx0212@1) G (320003@1)C (x32010@1)G (320003@1) D7But (xx0212@1)I knew I was out of luck the day the music died, I started singing'...
Chorus 2:
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DSo (xx0232@1)bye, bye Miss American Pie.
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DDrove (xx0232@1)my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry.
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DAnd (xx0232@1)them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye.
Em (022000@1) A7 (x02020@1)
Singin' "This will be the day that I die,
Em (022000@1) D7This (xx0212@1)will be the day that I die."
Verse 2:
G (320003@1) Am (x02210@1)
Now for ten years we've been on our own,
C (x32010@1) Am (x02210@1)
And moss grows fat on a rolling stone,
Em (022000@1) DBut (xx0232@1)that's not how it used to be.
G (320003@1) D (xx0232@1) EmWhen (022000@1)the jester sang for the king and queen.
Am7 (x02010@1) C (x32010@1) Em (022000@1) A7 (x02020@1) Din (xx0232@1)a coat he borrowed from James Dean, in a voice that came from you and me.
Em (022000@1) D (xx0232@1) Em (022000@1) DAnd (xx0232@1)while the king was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown.
C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) A7 (x02020@1) C (x32010@1) D7The (xx0212@1)courtroom was adjourned, no verdict was returned.
G (320003@1) D (xx0232@1) Em (022000@1) Am (x02210@1) CAnd (x32010@1)while Lenin read a book on Marx, the quartet practiced in the park.
G (320003@1) D (xx0232@1) Em (022000@1) C (x32010@1) D7 (xx0212@1) G (320003@1)C (x32010@1)G (320003@1) D7And (xx0212@1)we sang dirges in the dark, the day the music died, we were singing'...
Chorus 3:
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DSo (xx0232@1)bye, bye Miss American Pie,
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DDrove (xx0232@1)my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry.
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DAnd (xx0232@1)them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye.
Em (022000@1) A7 (x02020@1)
Singin' "This will be the day that I die,
Em (022000@1) D7This (xx0212@1)will be the day that I die."
Verse 3:
G (320003@1) AmHelter (x02210@1)skelter in a summer swelter,
C (x32010@1) Am (x02210@1)
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter,
Em (022000@1) DEight (xx0232@1)miles high and fallin' fast.
G (320003@1) D (xx0232@1) EmIt (022000@1)landed foul on the grass,
Am7 (x02010@1) C (x32010@1) Em (022000@1) A7 (x02020@1) Dthe (xx0232@1)players tried for a forward pass, with the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Em (022000@1) D (xx0232@1) Em (022000@1) DNow (xx0232@1)at halftime there was sweet perfume, while sergeants played a marching tune
C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) A7 (x02020@1) C (x32010@1) D7We (xx0212@1)all got up to dance, but we never got the chance,
G (320003@1) D (xx0232@1) Em (022000@1) Am (x02210@1) C'Cause (x32010@1)the players tried to take the field, the marching band refused to yield.
G (320003@1) D (xx0232@1) Em (022000@1) C (x32010@1) D7 (xx0212@1) G (320003@1)C (x32010@1)G (320003@1) D7Do (xx0212@1)you recall what was the feel the day the music died, we started singing'...
Chorus 4:
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DSo (xx0232@1)bye, bye Miss American Pie,
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DDrove (xx0232@1)my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry.
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DAnd (xx0232@1)them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye.
Em (022000@1) A7 (x02020@1)
Singin' "This will be the day that I die,
Em (022000@1) D7This (xx0212@1)will be the day that I die."
Verse 4:
G (320003@1) AmAnd (x02210@1)there we were all in one place,
C (x32010@1) Am (x02210@1)
A generation lost in space,
Em (022000@1) DWith (xx0232@1)no time left to start again.
G (320003@1) D (xx0232@1) Em (022000@1) Am7 (x02010@1) CSo (x32010@1)come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack Flash sat on a candlestick,
Em (022000@1) A7 (x02020@1) D'Cause (xx0232@1)fire is the devil's only friend.
Em (022000@1) D (xx0232@1) Em (022000@1) DAnd (xx0232@1)as I watched him on the stage, my hands were clenched in fists of rage,
C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) A7 (x02020@1) C (x32010@1) D7No (xx0212@1)angel born in Hell could break that Satan's spell.
G (320003@1) D (xx0232@1) Em (022000@1) Am (x02210@1) CAnd (x32010@1)as the flames climbed high into the night to light the sacrificial rite,
G (320003@1) D (xx0232@1) Em (022000@1) C (x32010@1) D7 (xx0212@1) G (320003@1)C (x32010@1)G (320003@1) D7I (xx0212@1)saw Satan laughing with delight the day the music died, he was singing'...
Chorus 5:
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DSo (xx0232@1)bye, bye Miss American Pie,
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DDrove (xx0232@1)my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry.
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DAnd (xx0232@1)them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye,
Em (022000@1) A7 (x02020@1)
Singin' "This will be the day that I die,
Em (022000@1) D7This (xx0212@1)will be the day that I die."
Outro (Sung with Piano only):
G (320003@1) D/F# (200232@1) EmI (022000@1)met a girl who sang the blues,
Am (x02210@1) C (x32010@1)
And I asked her for some happy news,
Em (022000@1) D (xx0232@1) Dsus4 (xx0233@1)name="chord_xx0232@1">D Dsus2 (xx0230@1)name="chord_xx0232@1">D
But she just smiled and turned away.
G (320003@1) D/F# (200232@1) Em (022000@1)
I went down to the sacred store,
G (320003@1) Am (x02210@1) C (x32010@1) Em (022000@1) C (x32010@1) DWhere (xx0232@1)I'd heard the music years before, but the man there said the music wouldn't play.
Em (022000@1) Am (x02210@1) Em (022000@1) AmAnd (x02210@1)in the streets the children screamed, the lovers cried and the poets dreamed.
C (x32010@1) G/B (143121@7) Am (x02210@1) C (x32010@1) D (xx0232@1)
But not aword (x02210@1)was spoken, the church bells all were broken.
G (320003@1) D/F# (200232@1)name="chord_022000@1">Em G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) D7And (xx0212@1)the three men I admire most, the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost,
G (320003@1) D/F# (200232@1) Em (022000@1) C (x32010@1) Am7 (x02010@1)name="chord_xx0212@1">D7 GThey (320003@1)caught the last train for the coast the day the music died.
D7And (xx0212@1)they were singing'...
"Sing it for me now"
Coda:
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DBye, (xx0232@1)bye, bye Miss American Pie,
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DDrove (xx0232@1)my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry. "Everybody"
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DAnd (xx0232@1)them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Em (022000@1) A7 (x02020@1)
Singin' "This will be the day that I die,
Em (022000@1) D7This (xx0212@1)will be the day that I die."
D7And (xx0212@1)they were singing'...
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DBye, (xx0232@1)bye, bye Miss American Pie,
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DDrove (xx0232@1)my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry. "Everybody"
G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) DAnd (xx0232@1)them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
C (x32010@1) D7 (xx0212@1) G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) GSingin' (320003@1)"This will be the day that I die."
(End)
Notes:
1. This version was borne out frustration to get this to match the Live performance.
2. In 2001 "American Pie" was voted No. 5 in a poll of the 365 Songs of the
Century compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National
Endowment for the Arts.
