American Pie Cifras

American Pie chords
Don McLean  1971 (American Pie) *
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Pie_(song)
 
  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 be 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                 Am             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.
 
    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 drinking 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
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 broncing 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....
 
G   C         G        D             G            C
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 drinking 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
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. When the jester sang for the King and 
            Am               C                      Em                   A7      D7
Queen, 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, 
        D7
we were singing
 
G   C         G        D             G            C
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 drinking 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 sergeants 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?
           D7
We started singing
 
G   C         G        D             G            C
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 drinking 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
Oh, 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.
        D7
We were singing
 
G   C         G        D             G            C
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 drinking 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     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         Em
but the man there said the music wouldn't play. And in the streets
    Am                     Em                   Am
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             Am                  D
And the three men I admire most: the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
G               D          Em                C        D7    G
They caught the last train for the coast the day, the music died.
              D7
And they were singing
 
G   C         G        D             G            C
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 drinking whiskey and rye, singing
Em                        A7   Em                        D7
this'll be the day that I die, this'll be the day that I die..
 
              D7
And they were singing
 
G   C         G        D             G            C
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 drinking whiskey and rye, singing
C              D7         G   C G
this'll be the day that I die
 
* Alternate:
 
Capo II
 
G  = F
D  = C
Em = Dm
Am = Gm
C  = Bb
A7 = G7
D7 = C7
 
Set8
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