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UKULELE CHORDS

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  G     D    Em7
a long, long time ago, 
Am            C                Em                   D
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
    G      D    Em7
And I know if I had my chance,
     Am                 C            
That I could make those people dance 
    Em              C           D
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      Am          C                      D
Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step
  G          D        Em           Am7            D
I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride
G         D          Em
Something touched me deep inside
    C       D7    G   C   G
The day the music died



Chorus
   G    C        G        D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C            G        D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
         G        C                  G           D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        Em                          A7   
Singin' this will be the day that I die, 
Em                          D7
this will be the day that I die

 
VERSE
G                 Am      
Did you write the book of love
       C                 Am         Em           D
And do you have faith in god above, if the bible tells you so?
G      D          Em
Do you believe in rock and roll
    Am7            C                    
Can music save your mortal soul and can 
 Em                      A7        D
you teach me how to dance real slow?
       Em                  D              
Well I know that you're in love with him  
       Em              D
'cuz I saw you dancin' in the gym
    C           G        A7     
You both kicked off your shoes, 
      C                    D7
man I dig those rhythm and blues
        G      D       Em                   
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck with a 
Am                   C
pink carnation and a pickup truck
    G      D     Em              C   
But I knew I was out of luck the day 
    D7    G  C  G
the music died, I started singin'


Chorus
   G    C        G        D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C            G        D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
         G        C                  G           D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        Em                          A7   
Singin' this will be the day that I die, 
Em                          D7
this will be the day that I die


VERSE
         G                   Am              
Now for ten years we've been on our own,
      C                   Am          
and moss grows fat on a rolling stone 
Em                      D
but that's not how it used to be
          G      D             Em
When the jester sang for the king and queen 
     Am7                C                
in a coat he borrowed from James Dean in 
   Em                      A7     D
a voice that came from you and me
     Em                  D           
And while the king was looking down, 
    Em                 D
the jester stole his thorny crown
     C        G          A7    C             D7
The courtroom was adjourned, no verdict was returned
          G        D    Em           
And while Lenin read a book on Marx, 
    Am                C
the quartet practiced in the park
    G        D      Em             
And we sang dirges in the dark the 
C         D7     G  C  G
day the music died, we were singin'


Chorus
   G    C        G        D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C            G        D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
         G        C                  G           D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        Em                          A7   
Singin' this will be the day that I die, 
Em                          D7
this will be the day that I die


VERSE
G                   Am
Helter skelter in a summer swelter
C                      Am                  
the birds flew off with a fallout shelter, 
Em                   D
eight miles high and fallin' fast
      G   D     Em
It landed foul on the grass
      Am7                C            
the players tried for a forward pass, 
Em                             A7    D
with the jester on the sidelines in a cast
         Em                D             
Now at halftime there was sweet perfume, 
      Em                  D
while sergeants played a marching tune
C          G        A7      C                  D7
We all got up to dance, but we never got the chance
          G      D         Em             
'Cuz the players tried to take the field, 
    Am              C
the marching band refused to yield
    G    D          Em              
Do you recall what was the feel the 
C        D7       G  C  G
day the music died, we started singin'


Chorus
   G    C        G        D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C            G        D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
         G        C                  G           D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        Em                          A7   
Singin' this will be the day that I die, 
Em                          D7
this will be the day that I die


VERSE
     G                Am
And there we were all in one place,
    C        Am            Em                   D
a generation lost in space, with no time left to start again
            G        D    Em              
So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, 
 Am7                 C
Jack Flash sat on a candle 
       Em                            A7     D
stick, 'cuz fire is the devil's only friend
     Em               D            
And as I watched him on the stage, 
    Em                     D
my hands were clenched in fists of rage
   C      G       A7         C                 D7
No angel born in Hell could bread that Satan's spell
           G               D      Em             
And as the flames climbed high into the night to 
Am              C
light the sacrificial rite
       G     D           Em            C      
I saw Satan laughing with delight the day the 
D7     G  C  G
music died, he was singin'


Chorus
   G    C        G        D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C            G        D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
         G        C                  G           D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        Em                          A7   
Singin' this will be the day that I die, 
Em                          D7
this will be the day that I die


LAST VERSE
  G     D        Em
I met a girl who sang the blues
      Am                 C           
And I asked her for some happy news, 
    Em                          D
but she just smiled and turned away
  G         D      Em
I went down to the sacred store
          Am              C             
Where I'd heard the music years before, 
        Em                 C
but the man there said the music
         D
wouldn't play
    Em                 Am                 
But in the streets the children screamed, 
    Em                   Am
the lovers cried and the poets dreamed
    C     G        Am          C                     D
But not a word was spoken, the church bells all were broken                                    
        G         D   Em         
And the three men I admire most, 
    Am7     C            D7
the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
G               D          Em                
They caught the last train for the coast the 
Am7     D7    G
day the music died,
D7
And they were singin'


FINAL Chorus
   G    C        G        D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
         G            C            G        D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
         G        C                  G           D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
        C                D7         G   C   G
Singin' this will be the day that I die.    
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This arrangement for the song is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the song. You may only use this for private study, scholarship, or research. UkuTabs does not own any songs, lyrics or arrangements posted and/or printed. This arrangement was downloaded for free on UkuTabs.com.
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Album: American Pie

  1. More from this artist? Request!

~Monday 24th of March~

Biography

Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his 1971 hit song “American Pie”, an 8.5-minute folk rock “cultural touchstone” about the loss of innocence of the early rock and roll generation (US #1 for four weeks in 1972 and UK #2).

McLean’s grandfather and father, both also named Donald McLean, had roots originating in Scotland. The Buccis, the family of McLean’s mother, Elizabeth, came from Abruzzo in central Italy.

Genres: , , , , .

All songs by Don McLean   »

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