Don Mclean - American Pie Chords & Tabs

 

American Pie Chords & Tabs

Don Mclean Chords & Tabs

Version: 7 Type: Chords

American Pie Chords

   
American Pie by Don McLean
Tabbed by: Brian Jenkins

G	320033
D	xx0232
D7	xx0121
Em	022000
Am	x02210
Am7	x02010

1st Verse:

  G     D    Em
A long, long time ago, 
Am            C               Em                    D
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
    G      D    Em 
And I know if I had my chance,
     Am                 C                Em              C           D
that I could make those people dance 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      Am          C                      D
Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step
  G          D        Em           Am7            D
I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride,
G         D          Em
something touched me deep inside,
    C       D7    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
and them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        Em                          A7   Em                          D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

2nd Verse:

G                 Am      
Did you write the book of love
       C                 Am         Em           D
and do you have faith in god above, if the bible tells you so
G      D          Em
Do you believe in rock and roll,
    Am7             C                       Em                         A7   D
can music save your mortal soul and can you teach me how to dance real slow
       Em                  D                      Em              D
Well I know that you're in love with him 'cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
    C                    A7           C                    D7
You both kicked off your shoes, man I dig those rhythm and blues
        G      D       Em                   Am                   C
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck with a pink carnation and a pickup truck
    G      D     Em              C       D7    G    C G
but I knew I was out of luck the day the music died  

I started singin'

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
and them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        Em                          A7   Em                          D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

3rd Verse:

        G                    Am              
Now for ten years we've been on our own,
    C                   Am            Em                    D
and moss grows fat on a rolling stone but that's not how it used to be
         G      D            Em
When the jester sang for the king and queen 
     Am7              C                    Em                   A7      D
in a coat he borrowed from James Dean in a voice that came from you and me
    Em                 D                 Em               D
And while the king was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown
    C             A7         C              D7
The courtroom was adjourned, no verdict was returned
          G     D      Em                Am                       C
And while Lenin read a book on Marx, the quartet practiced in the park
    G       D      Em              C       D7    G    C G
and we sang dirges in the dark the day the music died   

We were singin'

Chorus:
[ Tab from: https://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/d/don_mclean/american_pie_crd_ver_7.html ]
   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
and them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        Em                          A7   Em                          D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

4th Verse:

G                   Am
Helter skelter in a summer swelter,
C                         Am               Em                   D
the birds flew off with a fallout shelter, eight miles high and fallin' fast,
   G      D           Em
it landed foul on the grass
    Am7                 C             Em                     A7             D
the players tried for a forward pass, with the jester on the sidelines in a cast
       Em                 D                    Em                 D
Now at halftime there was sweet perfume, while sergeants played a marching tune
C                A7         C                D7
We all got up to dance, but we never got the chance
           G       D        Em                  Am              C
'cause the players tried to take the field, the marching band refused to yield
   G     D         Em               C       D7    G    C G
Do you recall what was the feel the day the music died

We started singin'

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
and them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        Em                          A7   Em                          D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

5th Verse:

    G                 Am
And there we were all in one place,
  C          Am                  Em                    D
a generation lost in space, with no time left to start again
           G       D       Em             Am7                 C
So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack Flash sat on a candlestick,
       Em                       A7     D
'cause fire is the devil's only friend
    Em               D                Em                     D
And as I watched him on the stage, my hands were clenched in fists of rage
   C             A7         C                  D7
No angel born in Hell could bread that Satan's spell
           G              D      Em              Am             C
And as the flames climbed high into the night to light the sacrificial rite
      G     D        Em               C       D7    G    C G
I saw Satan laughing with delight the day the music died

He was singin'

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
and them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        Em                          A7   Em                          D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die

6th Verse:

  G     D        Em
I met a girl who sang the blues
      Am                 C               Em                          D
and I asked her for some happy news, but she just smiled and turned away
  G         D      Em
I went down to the sacred store
          Am              C                     Em                 C
where I'd heard the music years before, but the man there said the music
         D
wouldn't play
    Em                 Am                     Em                   Am
But in the streets the children screamed, the lovers cried and the poets dreamed
    C              Am          C                     D
But not a word was spoken, the church bells all were broken                       
        G         D   Em             Am7     C            D7
And the three men I admire most, the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
G               D          Em                Am7     D7    G
They caught the last train for the coast the day the music died,

And they were singin'

Chorus/Outro:

   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
and them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        C                D7         G 
Singin' this will be the day that I die