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    • Don McLean - American Pie

    Don McLean

    Lyrics

    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...

    (Chorus)
    Bye, bye Miss American Pie
    Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
    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 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 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'

    (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 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'

    (Chorus)

    Helter skelter in a 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
    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'

    (Chorus)

    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
    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 right
    I saw Satan laughing with delight
    The day the music died
    He was singin'

    (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'd 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

    (Chorus, 2x)

    Licensed by © Universal Music Publishing Group
    Written by DON MCLEAN

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