AMERICAN PIE
- Words and Music by Don McLean
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 delivered.
Bad news on the door step;
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 …
Refrain
Bye, bye Miss American Pie.
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry.
Them good ol’ boys were drinkin’ whiskey ‘n’ rye,
Singin’ this will be the day that I die.
This will 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?
And do you believe in rock ‘n’ 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
Cuz I saw you dancin’ in the gym.
You both kicked off your shoes
And I dig those rhythm and blues.
I was a lonely teenage bronkin’ 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 singin’ …
Refrain
Now for ten years we’ve been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin 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 singin’…
Refrain
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter;
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter,
Eight miles high and fallin’ 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 the sergeants played a marching tune.
We all got up to dance,
Oh but we never got the chance.
As 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’…
Refrain
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 candle stick
Because fire is the devil’s only friend.
Oh 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 singin’…
Refrain
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 singin’…
Refrain
Bye, bye, Miss American Pie.
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry.
Them good ol’ boys were drinkin’ whiskey ‘n’ rye,
Singin’ this will be the day that I die.
Copyright © 1971 by Don McLean
Wikipedia entry on McLean, his song and the meaning of his lyrics
