| G | D/F# | Em | Am | C | |
| A | long | long | time ago | I can still re | member |
| Em | D* | G | D/F# | Em | |
| how that | music used to make me | smile And | I knew | if I had | my chance |
| Am | C | Em | C | D* | |
| that | I could make those | people dance and | maybe they'd be | happy for a | while. |
| Em | Am | Em | Am | |
| But February | made me shiver | With every paper | I'd deliver |
| C | G/B | Am | C | D | |
| Bad news | on the | doorstep I c | ouldn't take one | more step |
| G | D/F# | Em | C | D | |
| I | can't re | member if I | cried When I | read about his | widowed bride |
| G | D/F# | Em | C | D | G | C | G | |
| But | something | touched me de | ep inside The | day the | Music | Died | So |
| Chorus |
| G | C | G | D | G | C | G | D | |
| bye | bye Miss A | merican | Pie Drove my | chevy to the | levy But the | levy was | dry |
| G | C | G | D | |
| And them | good old | boys were drinking | whiskey and | rye |
| Em | A | Em | D | |
| Singin' | this'll be the day that I | die | this'll be the day that I | die. (embellish last D) (built tempo) |
| G | Am | C | Am | |
| Did you write the | book of love And do | you have faith in | God above? |
| Em | D | Dsus4 | G | D/F# | Em | |
| If the Bible | tells you so. Do | you be | lieve in | Rock 'n Roll? |
| Am | C | Em | A | D | |
| Can | music save your | mortal soul? And | can you teach me | how to dance | real slow? |
| Em | D | Em | D | |
| Well, I | know that you're in | love with him 'cause I | saw you dancin' | in the gym (play stops) |
| C | G/B | Am | C | D | |
| You | both kicked | off your | shoes Man, I | dig those rythmn and | blues |
| G | D/F# | Em | Am | C | |
| I was a | lonely | teenage | broncin' buck With a | pink carnation and a | pickup truck. |
| G | D/F# | Em | C | D | G | C | G | D | |
| But | I knew | I was | out of luck The | day the | music | died | I started sin | gin' |
| Chorus |
| G | C | G | D | G | C | G | D | |
| bye | bye Miss A | merican | Pie Drove my | chevy to the | levy But the | levy was | dry |
| G | C | G | D | |
| And them | good old | boys were drinking | whiskey and | rye |
| Em | A | Em | D | |
| Singin' | this'll be the day that I | die | this'll be the day that I | die. (embellish last D) (built tempo) |
| G | Am | C | Am | |
| Now for ten years we've been | on our own And | moss grows fat on a | rollin' stone |
| Em | D | Dsus4 | G | D/F# | Em | |
| But that's not how it | used to be When the | jester | sang for the | King and Queen |
| Am | C | Em | A | D | Dsus2 | |
| In a | coat he borrowed | from James Dean And a | voice that | came from | you and me |
| Em | D | Em | D | |
| Oh, and | while the King was | looking down The | jester stole his | thorny crown (play stops) |
| C | G/B | Am | C | D | |
| The | courtroom | was ad | journed No | verdict was re | turned |
| G | D | Em | Am | C | |
| And while | Lenin | read a | book on Marx the | quartet practiced | in the park |
| G | D/F# | Em | C | D | G | C | G | D | |
| And | we sang | dirges | in the dark The | day the | Music | Died. | We were sin | ging |
| Chorus |
| G | C | G | D | G | C | G | D | |
| bye | bye Miss A | merican | Pie Drove my | chevy to the | levy But the | levy was | dry |
| G | C | G | D | |
| And them | good old | boys were drinking | whiskey and | rye |
| Em | A | Em | D | |
| Singin' | this'll be the day that I | die | this'll be the day that I | die. (embellish last D) (built tempo) |
| G | Am | C | Am | |
| I | met a girl who sang the | blues And I | asked her for some | happy news |
| Em | D | Dsus4 | G | D/F# | |
| But | she just smiled and turned | away I | went down to the sacred | store |
| Em | Am | Em | A | D | Dsus2 | |
| Where I'd | heard the music | years before But the | man there said the | music woudn't | play |
| Em | D | Em | D | |
| And in the | streets the children | screamed The | lovers cried, and the poets | dreamed (play stops) |
| C | G/B | Am | C | D | |
| But not a | word was | spoken The | Church bells all were | broken |
| G | D | Em | Am | C | |
| And | three men I | admire most The | Father, | Son and the | Holy Ghost |
| G | D/F# | Em | C | D | G | C | G | |
| They | caught the | last train | for the coast The | Day the | Music | Died. | And they were singing |
| Chorus 2x |
| G | C | G | D | G | C | G | D | |
| bye | bye Miss A | merican | Pie Drove my | chevy to the | levy But the | levy was | dry |
| G | C | G | D | |
| And them | good old | boys were drinking | whiskey and | rye |
| Em | A | Em | D | |
| Singin' | this'll be the day that I | die | this'll be the day that I | die. (embellish last D) (built tempo) |
surely its Lenin as in V.I Lenin not John Lennon who read a book on Marx see 4th verse. ta, Jack
great song, not too hard to play but it is "lenin read a book on marx, the quartet practised in the park"
http://www.russell-lawson.com/music/chordpro/DonMcLean_AmericanPie.cpm
Keep having to scroll up and down the page to find the chorus.
72.139.56.116
No more scrolling for the Chorus, and the "Lenin" line is fixed as well. Enjoy!
http://www.russell-lawson.com/music/chordpro/DonMcLean_AmericanPie.cpm
needs all the verses
64.6.6.13
Should be all set now. Happy Playing! :)
Re: Lenin/Lennon...
It's Lennon, as in John Lennon, as in the former Beatle who turned communist as is evident in the song 'Imagine', and who subsequently got a bullet in his head for the effort.
Furthermore, American Pie is about the feeling of a whole generation, you know, around the fifties and sixties... In that sense, a single line about a Russian dictator who died at the end of World War II doesn't make much sense.
O well. Can't make everyone happy. :)
The Verses go G to G/F# than Em Am C Em D After playing that twice you play Em Am Em Am G G/F# Em Am D G to G/F# than Em Am C G/F# Em Am D Than to the chorus.
Sorry I could never spell to well
re: The Verses go G to G/F# then...
It actually sounds better if you go G to D/F# then... as D and F# complement each other.
As well as C to G/B to Am.
