DON McLEAN   

 

American Pie



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 levee but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' 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
Do you believe in rock and roll can music save your mortal 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 levee but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
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 rollin' 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 of Marx the quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark the day the music died

We were singing Bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die, this'll be the day that I die

Helter Skelter in the summer swelter the Byrds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast it landed foul out 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 the 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 singing Bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die, this'll be the day that I die

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 sacrifical rite I saw Satan laughing with delight the day the music died
He was singing Bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
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 woudn'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 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 levee but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' 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 levee but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die, this'll be the day that I die