Released: November 1971 from the album of the same name
Re-released: November 1991
Music: Key of G Major in 4/4 time at ~ 136 bpm (♩)
Chords: G, D, Em, C, Am, A7, D7
American Pie
Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key
Intro:4/4G D Em
A long, long time a-go
Am C Em D
I can still re-mem-ber how that mu-sic used to make me smile
G D Em Am C
And I knew if I had my chance That I could make those peo-ple dance
Em C D
And may-be they'd be hap-py for a while
Em Am Em Am
But Feb-ru-ary made me shi-ver With ev'-ry pa-per I'd de-li-ver
C G Am C D
Bad news on the door-step I could-n't take one more step
G D Em Am D
I can't re-mem-ber if I cried When I read about his wi-dowed bride
G D Em C D7 G
But some-thing touched me deep in-side The day the mu-sic died... so
G C G DChorus: Bye-bye, Miss A-me-ri-can Pie
G C G D
Drove my Che-vy to the le-vee, but the le-vee was dry
G C G D
Them good ol' boys were drin-kin' whis-key and rye
Em A7
Sin-gin' "This'll be the day that I die
Em D7 D7
This'll be the day that I die" | |
G Am C Am
1. Did you write the book of love And do you have faith in God a-bove
Em D D
If the Bible tells you so? | |
G D Em Am C
Now do you be-lieve in rock 'n' roll Can mu-sic save your mor-tal soul
Em A7 D D
And can you teach me how to dance real slow - ow?
Em D
Well, I know that you're in love with him
Em D
'Cause I saw you dan-cin' in the gym
C G A7 C D7
You both kicked off your shoes Man, I dig those rhy-thm and blues
G D Em
I was a lone-ly tee-nage bron-cin' buck
Am C
With a pink car-na-tion and a pick-up truck
G D Em
But I knew I was out of luck
C D7 G C G
The day the mu-sic | died... | I started singin' |
G C G DChorus: Bye-bye, Miss A-me-ri-can Pie
G C G D
Drove my Che-vy to the le-vee, but the le-vee was dry
G C G D
Them good ol' boys were drin-kin' whis-key and rye
Em A7
Sin-gin' "This'll be the day that I die
Em D7 D7
This'll be the day that I die" | |
G Am
2. Now for ten years we've been on our own
C Am
And moss grows fat on a rol-lin' stone
Em D D
But that's not how it used to be | |
G D Em
When the jes-ter sang for the king and queen
Am C
In a coat he bor-rowed from James Dean
Em A7 D D
In a voice that came from you and me | |
Em D
Oh, and while the king was look-ing down
Em D
The jes-ter stole his thor-ny crown
C G A7 C D7
The court-room was ad-journed No ver-dict was re-turned
G D Em Am C
And while Le-nin read a book on Marx A quar-tet prac-ticed in the park
G D Em
And we sang dir-ges in the dark
C D7 G C G
The day the mus-ic | died... | We were singin' |
G C G DChorus: Bye-bye, Miss A-me-ri-can Pie
G C G D
Drove my Che-vy to the le-vee, but the le-vee was dry
G C G D
Them good ol' boys were drin-kin' whis-key and rye
Em A7
Sin-gin' "This'll be the day that I die
Em D7 D7
This'll be the day that I die" | |
G Am
3. Hel-ter skel-ter in a sum-mer swel-ter
C Am
The birds flew off with a fall-out shel-ter
Em D D
Eight miles high and fal-ling fa-ast
G D Em Am C
It lan-ded foul on the grass The play-ers tried for a for-ward pass
Em A7 D D
With the jes-ter on the side-lines in a cast | |
Em D
Now the half-time air was sweet per-fume
Em D
While the ser-geants played a march-ing tune
C G A7 C D7
We all got up to dance Oh, but we ne-ver got the chance
G D Em
'Cause the play-ers tried to take the field
Am C
The march-ing band re-fused to yield
G D Em
Do you re-call what was re-vealed
C D7 G C G
The day the mu-sic | died?... | We started sing-in' |
G C G DChorus: Bye-bye, Miss A-me-ri-can Pie
G C G D
Drove my Che-vy to the le-vee, but the le-vee was dry
G C G D
Them good ol' boys were drin-kin' whis-key and rye
Em A7
Sin-gin' "This'll be the day that I die
Em D7 D7
This'll be the day that I die" | |
G Am C Am
4. Oh, and there we were all in one place A gen-e-ra-tion lost in space
Em D D
With no time left to start again | |
G D Em
So come on, Jack be nim-ble, Jack be quick
Am C
Jack Flash sat on a can-dle-stick
Em A7 D D
'Cause fire is the de-vil's on-ly friend | |
Em D
Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
Em D
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
C G A7 C D7
No an-gel born in Hell Could break that Sa-tan's spell
G D Em
And as the flames climbed high in-to the night
Am C
To light the sac-ri-fi-cial rite
G D Em
I saw Sa-tan laug-hing with delight
C D7 G C G
The day the mu-sic | died... | He was sing-in' |
G C G DChorus: Bye-bye, Miss A-me-ri-can Pie
G C G D
Drove my Che-vy to the le-vee, but the le-vee was dry
G C G D
Them good ol' boys were drin-kin' whis-key and rye
Em A7
Sin-gin' "This'll be the day that I die
Em D7
This'll be the day that I die"...
G D Em Am COutro: I met a girl who sang the blues And I asked her for some hap-py news
Em D D
But she just smiled and turned a-way | |
G D Em
I went down to the sa-cred store
Am C
Where I'd heard the mu-sic years be-fore
Em A7 D D
But the man there said the mu-sic would-n't play | |
Em D
And in the streets, the chil-dren screamed
Em D
The lo-vers cried and the po-ets dreamed
C G A7 C D
But not a word was spo-ken The church bells all were bro-ken
G D Em C D7
And the three men I ad-mire most The Fa-ther, Son and the Ho-ly Ghost
G D Em
They caught the last train for the coast
C D7 G C G
The day the mu-sic | died... | And they were singin' |
G C G DChorus: Bye-bye, Miss A-me-ri-can Pie
G C G D
Drove my Che-vy to the le-vee, but the le-vee was dry
G C G D
Them good ol' boys were drin-kin' whis-key and rye
Em A7
Sin-gin' "This'll be the day that I die
Em D7 D7
This'll be the day that I die"... | They were singin' |
G C G DChorus: Bye-bye, Miss A-me-ri-can Pie
G C G D
Drove my Che-vy to the le-vee, but the le-vee was dry
G C G D
Them good ol' boys were drin-kin' whis-key and rye
C D7 G C G
Sin-gin' "This'll be the day that I | die" / |
The first verse of the song is not in strict time and is pretty much left to the discretion of the performer (ad lib). If you are using a metronome, it would be better to start it at the beginning of verse 2, and stop it again after the chorus following verse 5.
I have kept the chords to a minimum. Where you have extra bars of D major you can use Dsus4 and Dsus2 chords if you want ... adds color and interest.
This song is ideal for beginners, as there are no barre chords, and it's a fun song to play along with.
The last bar | GC G / | means you play the G chord on 'die' for 1 beat, the C chord for 1 beat and strum G on the 3rd beat and hold... let it ring out.
Song Facts
Written by Don McLean and released in 1971.
It is a 8-minute-and-42-second long song, which was the longest song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart until Taylor Swift's "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" in 2021.
Widely regarded as a commentary on the shifting cultural and social landscape of the 1960s and its effects on American identity.
Divided into eight verses, each of which tells a different story about the changing times.
Full of references to popular culture of the 1960s, such as the Beatles, the Vietnam War, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
It has been interpreted in many different ways, but it is generally seen as a lament for the loss of a simpler time.
Considered a classic of American popular music and has been covered by many artists, including Madonna, Billy Cassidy, and Weird Al Yankovic.
Inspired by the death of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper in a plane crash in 1959. McLean has said that he wrote the song as a way of coming to terms with the loss of innocence that he felt after the crash. This event is often referred to as "The Day the Music Died" and had a profound impact on the music world.
The interpretation of "American Pie" as a commentary on the loss of the American dream is a commonly held perspective among listeners and critics, but it's important to note that Don McLean himself has been somewhat cryptic about the song's meaning. While McLean has provided some insights into the inspiration behind the song, he has also stated that he prefers to leave its interpretation open to the listener's discretion.
Used in many movies and television shows, including The Next Best Thing (2000), The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), The Simpsons Mad Men, West Wing, American Dad!, and The Wonder Years.
