"American Pie"

(As recorded by Don McLean)
DON MCLEAN

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 levy but the levy was dry
And them good 'ole boys were drinking 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
Now do you believe in rock and roll, can music save your moral 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 levy
But the levy was dry
Them good 'ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye and 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 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 Lenin 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' bye bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levy
But the levy was dry
Them good 'ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye and singin'
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 a 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 half-time 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' bye bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levy
But the levy was dry
Them good 'ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye and singin'
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.

We were singin' bye bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levy
But the levy was dry
Them good 'ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye and 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 wouldn't play, mmm
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 levy
But the levy was dry
And them good 'ole boys were drinking 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 levy
But the levy was dry
Them good 'ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye singin'
This'll be the day that I die.

(c) Copyright 1971, 1972 by Mayday Music, Inc. and Yahweh Tunes, Inc. All rights
administered by Unart Music Corporation.

- HIT PARADER, April 1972.

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