[Verse 1]
C G/B Am7
D long, long time ago,
Dm F Am G
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
C G/B Am7
And I know if I had my chance,
Dm F Am F G
That I could make those people dance and maybe they'd be happy for a while
Am Dm Am Dm
But February made me shiver, with every paper I'd deliver
F C Dm F G
Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step
C G/B Am Dm7 G
I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride
C G Am
Something touched me deep inside
F G7 C
The day the music died
[Chorus]
C F C G
So bye, bye Miss Dmerican Pie
C F C G
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
C F C G
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Am* D7* Am* G7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
[Verse 2]
C Dm
Did you write the book of love
F Dm Am G
And do you have faith in god above, if the bible tells you so?
C G/B Am
Do you believe in rock and roll
Dm7 F Am D7 G
Can music save your mortal soul and can you teach me how to dance real slow?
Am* G* Am* G*
Well I know that you're in love with him 'cuz I saw you dancin' in the gym
F C D7 F G7
You both kicked off your shoes, man I dig those rhythm and blues
C G/B Am Dm F
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck with a pink carnation and a pickup truck
C G/B Am F G7 C F C
But I knew I was out of luck the day the music died, I started singin'
[Chorus]
C F C G
So bye, bye Miss Dmerican Pie
C F C G
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
C F C G
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Am* D7* Am* G7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
[Verse 3]
C Dm
Now for ten years we've been on our own,
F Dm Am G
and moss grows fat on a rolling stone but that's not how it used to be
C G/B Am
When the jester sang for the king and queen
Dm7 F Am D7 G
in a coat he borrowed from James Dean in a voice that came from you and me
Am* G* Am* G*
And while the king was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown
F C D7 F G7
The courtroom was adjourned, no verdict was returned
C G/B Am Dm F
And while Lenin read a book on Marx, the quartet practiced in the park
C G/B Am F G7 C F C
And we sang dirges in the dark the day the music died, we were singin'
[Chorus]
C F C G
So bye, bye Miss Dmerican Pie
C F C G
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
C F C G
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Am* D7* Am* G7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
[Verse 4]
C Dm
Helter skelter in a summer swelter
F Dm Am G
the birds flew off with a fallout shelter, eight miles high and fallin' fast
C G/B Am
It landed foul on the grass
Dm7 F Am D7 G
the players tried for a forward pass, with the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Am* G* Am* G*
Now at halftime there was sweet perfume, while sergeants played a marching tune
F C D7 F G7
We all got up to dance, but we never got the chance
C G/B Am Dm F
'Cuz the players tried to take the field, the marching band refused to yield
C G/B Am F G7 C F C
Do you recall what was the feel the day the music died, we started singin'
[Chorus]
C F C G
So bye, bye Miss Dmerican Pie
C F C G
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
C F C G
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Am* D7* Am* G7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
[Verse 5]
C Dm
And there we were all in one place,
F Dm Am G
a generation lost in space, with no time left to start again
C G/B Am Dm7 F
So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack Flash sat on a candle
Am D7 G
stick, 'cuz fire is the devil's only friend
Am* G* Am* G*
And as I watched him on the stage, my hands were clenched in fists of rage
F C D7 F G7
No angel born in Hell could break that Satan's spell
C G/B Am Dm F
And as the flames climbed high into the night to light the sacrificial rite
C G/B Am F G7 C F C
I saw Satan laughing with delight the day the music died, he was singin'
[Chorus]
C F C G
So bye, bye Miss Dmerican Pie
C F C G
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
C F C G
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Am* D7* Am* G7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
[Verse 6]
C G/B Am
I met a girl who sang the blues
Dm F Am G
And I asked her for some happy news, but she just smiled and turned away
C G/B Am
I went down to the sacred store
Dm F Am F
Where I'd heard the music years before, but the man there said the music
G
wouldn't play
Am* Dm* Am* Dm*
But in the streets the children screamed, the lovers cried and the poets dreamed
F C Dm F G
But not a word was spoken, the church bells all were broken
C G/B Am Dm7 F G7
And the three men I admire most, the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
C G/B Am Dm7 G7 C
They caught the last train for the coast the day the music died,
N.C.
And they were singin'
[Chorus]
C F C G
So bye, bye Miss Dmerican Pie
C F C G
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
C F C G
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Am* D7* Am* G7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
C F C G
So bye, bye Miss Dmerican Pie
C F C G
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
C F C G
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
F G7 C F C
Singin' this will be the day that I die.
The proper way to eat a cinnamon roll is to just bite into it