Don McLean
American Pie
American Pie (1971)

  G     D/F♯ Em
A long, long time ago
Am            C
I can still remember how
           Em                 D(sus4,sus2)
That music    used to make me smile

    G         D/F♯  Em
And I knew if I had my chance
     Am                 C
That I could make those people dance
    Em              C           D(sus4,sus2)
And maybe they'd be happy for a while

Em           Am
But February made me shiver
Em               Am
With every paper I'd deliver
C        G/B        Am
Bad news on the doorstep
  C                           D
I couldn't take one more step

  G       D/F♯        Em
I can't remember if I cried
       Am7            D
When I read about his widowed bride
    G         D/F♯       Em
But something touched me deep inside
C           D7    G
The day the music died		so...


  G   C         G       D
  Bye bye Miss American Pie
           G            C             G         D
  Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
       G        C                  G           D
  Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
           Em                        A7
  Singing "This'll be the day that I die
  Em                        D7(sus4,sus2)
  This'll be the day that I die"


G                 Am
Did you write the book of love?
       C                 Am
And do you have faith in God above
Em           D(sus4,sus2)
If the Bible tells you so?

       G     D/F♯     Em
Now do you believe in rock 'n roll?
    Am7        C
Can music save your mortal soul?
    Em               A7           D
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?





       Em                  D
Well I know that you're in love with him
         Em              D
'Cause I saw you dancing in the gym
    C           G/B      A
You both kicked off your shoes
       C                    D7
Man, I dig those rhythm 'n' blues

        G      D/F♯    Em
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
       Am                   C
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
    G      D/F♯  Em
But I knew I was out of luck
    C       D7    G     C  G            D
The day the music died        I started singin'


  Refrain


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 Lennon 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'


  Refrain


Helter Skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with the fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling 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 halftime 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'


  Refrain


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, he was singin'


  Refrain  (doux dernier D)


I met a girl who sang the blues                       (comme 1er couplet)
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

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 Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died, and they were singin'


  Refrain  (lent)


  Refrain  (ensemble)

         C              D          G    C  G
    fin: This'll be the day that I die


(Madonna: en G♯, w/ clavier Casio et choriste cucul, en sautant plein de paroles)