American Pie lyrics

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.

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 ol' boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye

Singing "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 ’n 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 ol' boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye

Singing "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 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 singing:

Bye-bye, Miss American Pie.

Drove my Chevy to the levee

But the levee was dry.

Them good ol' boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye

Singing "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 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 singing:

Bye-bye, Miss American Pie.

Drove my Chevy to the levee

But the levee was dry.

Them good ol' boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye

Singing "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

He was singing:

Bye-bye, Miss American Pie.

Drove my Chevy to the levee

But the levee was dry.

Them good ol' boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye

Singing "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.

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 ol' boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye

Singing "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 ol' boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye

Singing "This’ll be the day that I die".

• Artist:Don McLean
• Album:American Pie (1971)