"American Pie"

 

(As recorded by Don McLean)

DON MCLEAN

 

A long, long time ago

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

And I knew 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

But something touched me deep inside the day the music died.

 

So bye bye Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry

And them good 'ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye singin'

This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die.

 

Did you write the book of love, and do you have faith in God above?

If the Bible tells you so

Now do you believe in rock and roll, can music save your moral soul and

Can you teach me how to dance real slow?

 

Well I know that you're in love with him 'cause 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' bye bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levy

But the levy was dry

Them good 'ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye and singin'

This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die.

 

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

And a voice that came from you and me

Oh 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' bye bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levy

But the levy was dry

Them good 'ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye and singin'

This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die.

 

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 the half-time air was sweet perfume while sergeants played a marching tune

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

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

Do you recall what was revealed the day the music died.

 

We started singin' bye bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levy

But the levy was dry

Them good 'ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye and singin'

This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die.

 

Oh, 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 candlestick 'cause

Fire is the devil's only friend

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage my hands were clenched in fists of rage

No angel born in hell, could break 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.

 

We were singin' bye bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levy

But the levy was dry

Them good 'ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye and singin'

This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die.

 

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, mmm

And 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 singing

Bye bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levy

But the levy was dry

And them good 'ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye singin'

This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die.

 

They were singing

Bye bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levy

But the levy was dry

Them good 'ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye singin'

This'll be the day that I die.