MCLEAN DON - "american pie" Tablature

AMERICAN PIE- Don Mclean

G Bm Em
A long, long time ago
C D
I can still remember how that
Em D
Music used to make me smile
G Bm Em
And I knew if I had my chance
C D
That I could make those people dance
Em C D
And maybe they'd be happy for awhile

Em C
But February made me shiver
Em C
With every paper I'd deliver
C Bm Am
Bad news on the doorstep
C D
I couldn't take one more step
G Bm Em
And I can't remember if I cried
C D
When I read about his widowed bride
G Bm Em
But something touched me deep inside
C D G
The day the music died

CHORUS:
G C G D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
G C G D
Drove my chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
G C G D
Them good ol' boys was drinkin whiskey and rye
Em A
And singin' this'll be the day that I die
Em D
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 mortal soul
And cay you teach me how to dance real slow?
Well I know that you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancing in the gym.
You both kicked off your shoes.
Well I dig those rhythm and blues.
I was a lonely teenage bronkin' buck
With a pink Carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew that I was out of luck
The day the music died. And I was singin'

CHORUS

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 Lennin read a book on Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died.
And we were singin'

CHORUS

Helter skelter in the summer swelter
The birds flew off the 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 halftime air was sweet perfume
While the sergents played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
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.
And we were singin'

Chorus

And in 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 because
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 climed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died.
And he was singin'

CHORUS

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news.
She just smiled and turned away.
So I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music once 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 the most--
The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost--
Well they took the last train for the coast
The day the music died.
And they were singin'

CHORUS (slowly)
CHORUS (build up to full speed)
Si Edwardson