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,
Something touched me deep inside the day the music died! So…
Bye, bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry.
Them good ol’ boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye, singing
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.
Now 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 ’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 bronckin’ 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 singing…
Bye, bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry.
Them good ol’ boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye, singing
This will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die.
Now for ten years we’ve been on our own and moss grows fat out of 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 court room 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 singing…
Bye, bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry.
Them good ol’ boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye, singing
This will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die.
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter the birds flew off with the fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast,
It land in foul on the grass the players tried for a forward pass but 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 singing…
Bye, bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry.
Them good ol’ boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye, singing
This will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die.
Oh, in there we were all in one place a generation lost in space
But no time left to start again.
So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack Flash sat on a candle stick
‘Cause 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 planes climbed high into the night to light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight the day the music died. He was singing…
Bye, bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry.
Them good ol’ boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye, singing
This will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die.
I met a girl who sang the blues and I asked her for some happy news
And 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…
Bye, bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry.
Them good ol’ boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye singing
This will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die.
They were singin’, bye, bye Miss American Pie,
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry.
Them good ol’ boys were drinking whiskey and rye singin’
This will be the day that I die.
1971 – Don McLean – Album: American Pie