G           D           Em
A long, long time ago
Am                C                             Em                                       D Dsus4 D Dsus2 D
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
       G                 D/F#     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/B       Am              C                                            D
Bad news on the doorstep. I couldn't take one more step
    G               D/F#       Em               Am7                  D
I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride
G                 D/F#              Em                    C            D7       G              C              G
Something touched me deep inside the day the music died

      G    C                G              D       G            C                    G                    D
So bye-bye, Miss American Pie. Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
         G              C                                G                 D
them good ole boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye, singin'
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/B        A7                  C                                 D7
You both kicked off your shoes, Man I dig those rhythm and blues!
G                      D/F#       Em                               Am                                 C
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck, with a pink carnation and a pick-up truck
      G        D/F#               Em         C              D7     G              C              G
But I knew I was out of luck the day, the music died

G              D7
I started singing...  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. Cause when the jester sang for the King & 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 court room 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

I started singin' Chorus

Helter skelter in the summer swelter the birds flew off with a 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
The half time air was sweet perfume while the sergeants played a marching tune
we all got up to dance but we never got the chance. 'Cause
the players tried to take the field, but the marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed the day the music died

I started singin'. Chorus

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
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'   chorus

I met a girl who sang the blues so I asked her for some happy news but she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the sacred store. Where I 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 this'll be the day that I die

We were singing.. chorus. x2