From uunet!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!bionet!agate!sennet Sat Aug 22 15:00:34 PDT 1992 Article: 1763 of alt.guitar.tab Path: nevada.edu!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!bionet!agate!sennet From: sennet@ocf.berkeley.edu (Sennet Williams) Newsgroups: alt.guitar.tab Subject: American Pie SIMP (lyrics and chords) Message-ID: <172etqINNhb3@agate.berkeley.edu> Date: 21 Aug 92 10:01:30 GMT Organization: U.C. Berkeley Open Computing Facility Lines: 167 NNTP-Posting-Host: tornado.berkeley.edu I think this song has been posted before, but not with chords with every verse, which I for one needed to be able to play it. It's a really long song, but can fit on two pages if you cut some extras. . . AMERICAN PIE (Don Mclean) (SIMPed by Sennet) . 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 Am7 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._____ . Chorus: . 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 drinkin' whiskey and Rye, singing . Em A7 Em D7 . this'll be the day that I die, This'll be the day that I die.__ verse: 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 broncin' 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.... (chorus) . . 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.Cause when the jester sang for the King & Queen . Am C Em A7 D7 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__ G D7 I started singin' (chorus) . Chord fingering chart: . E A D G B E E A D G B E E A D G B E A 0 0 2 2 2 0 Am7 0 0 2 0 1 0 D7 x x 0 2 1 2 Am 0 0 2 2 1 0 C x 3 2 0 1 0 Em 0 2 2 0 0 0 A7 0 0 2 0 2 0 D x x 0 2 3 2 G 3 2 0 0 0 3 . . . Chorus: . 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 drinkin' 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 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 seargeants 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. G D7 I started singin' (chorus) . . G Am, C Am 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. G D7 we were singin' (chorus) . . 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 But the man there said the music wouldn't play.__ And Em Am Em Am 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 D And the three men I admire most: the father, Son and the Holy Ghost__ . G D Em C D7 G C G They caught the last train for the coast the day, the music died. G D7 C D7 G C G And they were singing:(chorus twice, ending: this'll be the day that I die) . Chord fingering chart: . E A D G B E E A D G B E E A D G B E A 0 0 2 2 2 0 Am7 0 0 2 0 1 0 D7 x x 0 2 1 2 Am 0 0 2 2 1 0 C x 3 2 0 1 0 Em 0 2 2 0 0 0 A7 0 0 2 0 2 0 D x x 0 2 3 2 G 3 2 0 0 0 3 . Are there a lot of chord changes or what? (some people play this song with the intro and the end having the same chords. If you figure it out, could you send me a copy? . SIMP format:. If you also need chords with every verse and like the printout for this song, check out the following "But I Might Die Tonight" post. I have a fair number of other songs in this format and am interested in exchanging them. Most wanted: Old Cheap Trick hits, and Cat Stevens from "Harold and Maude" . . . Hope you enjoy the song! . . Humor break: A- "The Education President" B- "No New Taxes" C- "The Environmental" (that's a good one) "President" . Hmmm, batting three for three. Read my lips: Somebody will SAY ANYTHING to get elected. . . . . "Happiness is a learned condition" --Tom Robbins . . Sennet@OCF.berkeley.EDU
