American Pie

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

Chorus
   Bye-bye Miss American Pie
   Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
   Them good ole boys were drink-in’ whiskey and rye
   Sing-in’ this’ll be the day that I die
   This’ll be the day that I die (pick-up tempo here)

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 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 dancing 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 pick-up truck
But I knew I was out of luck the day the music died
I started sing-in’ Repeat 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
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 sing-in’ Repeat Chorus

Helter-skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter. Eight miles high and fall-in’ fast
It landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass, with the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Now that halftime 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, the marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was the feel the day, the music died?
We started sing-in’ Repeat 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
He was sing-in’ Repeat Chorus

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 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 sing-in’ Repeat Chorus

   They were singing
   Bye-bye Miss American Pie
   Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
   Them good ole boys were drink-in’ whiskey and rye
   Sing-in’ this’ll be the day that I die