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The day the music died was February 3rd 1959, when Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper died in a plane crash in Iowa.
[Verse 1]
A [C] long, [G] long [Am] time ago, [Dm] I can still [F] remember how that [Am] music used to make me [G] smile. And [C] I knew [G] if I [Am] had my chance, that [Dm] I could make those [F] people dance and [Am] maybe they'd be [F] happy for a [G] while. [Am] But February [Dm] made me shiver, [Am] with every paper [Dm] I'd deliver. [F] Bad news [C] on the [Dm] doorstep, I [F] couldn't take one [G] more step. I [C] can't [G] remember [Am] if I cried when I [Dm] read about his [G] widowed bride. But [C] something [G] touched me [Am] deep inside, the [F] day the [G7] music [C] died
[CHORUS] - - - - - So [C] bye, [F] bye Miss [C] American [G] Pie, Drove my [C] Chevy to the [F] levy but the [C] levy was [G] dry. Them [C] good old [F] boys were drinkin' [C] whiskey and [G] rye, Singin' [Am*] this will be the day that I [D7*] die, [Am*] this will be the [G7] day that I die
[Verse 2] - - - - - [C] Did you write the [Dm] book of love? And do [F] you have [Dm] faith in [Am] God above? [G] if the bible tells you so . . . Do [C] you [G] believe in [Am] rock and roll? Can [Dm] music [F] save your [Am] mortal soul, and [D7] can you teach me how to dance real [G] slow?
Well I [Am*] know that you're in [G*] love with him, 'cuz I [Am*] saw you dancin' [G*] in the gym. You [F] both kicked [C] off your [Dm] shoes, man I [F] dig those rhythm and [G7] blues. I was a [C] lonely [G] teenage [Am] bronckin' buck, with a [Dm] pink carnation and a [F] pickup truck. But I [C] knew [G] I was [Am] out of luck the [F] day the [G7] music [C] died, [F] [C] I started [G] singin'
[CHORUS] - - - - - So [C] bye, [F] bye Miss [C] American [G] Pie, Drove my [C] Chevy to the [F] levy but the [C] levy was [G] dry. Them [C] good old [F] boys were drinkin' [C] whiskey and [G] rye, Singin' [Am*] this will be the day that I [D7*] die, [Am*] this will be the [G7] day that I die
[Verse 3]
Now for [C] ten years we've been [Dm] on our own and [F] moss grows [Dm] fat on a rolling stone but [Am] that's not how it [G] used to be. When the [C] jester [G] sang for the [Am] king and queen in a [Dm7] coat he borrowed [F] from James Dean in a [Am] voice that [Dm] came from you and [G] me.
Oh, and [Am*] while the king was [G*] looking down, the [Am*] jester stole his [G*] thorny crown. The [F] courtroom [C] was [D7] adjourned, no [F] verdict was [G7] returned. And [C] while Lennin [G] read a [Am] book on Marx, the [Dm] quartet practiced [F] in the park. And [C] we sang [G] dirges [Am] in the dark the [F] day the [G7] music [C] died, [F] we were [G] singin'
[CHORUS] - - - - - So [C] bye, [F] bye Miss [C] American [G] Pie, Drove my [C] Chevy to the [F] levy but the [C] levy was [G] dry. Them [C] good old [F] boys were drinkin' [C] whiskey and [G] rye, Singin' [Am*] this will be the day that I [D7*] die, [Am*] this will be the [G7] day that I die
[Verse 4] [Verse 5] ( below) REFERENCE ONLY - DO NOT SING - Left out of Bistro version intentionally.
[Verse 6] SLOWLY - - - I [C] met a [G] girl who [Am] sang the blues, and I [Dm] asked her [F] for some [Am] happy news. [G] She just smiled and turned away. [C] I went [G] down to the [Am] sacred store Where I'd [Dm] heard the [F] music [Am] years before, but the [F] man there said the music wouldn't [G] play. But [Am*] in the streets the [Dm*] children screamed, the [Am*] lovers cried and the [Dm*] poets dreamed. But [F] not a [C] word was [Dm] spoken, the [F] church bells all were [G] broken. And the [C] three men [G] I admire [Am] most,
the [F] Father, Son, and the [G7] Holy Ghost had [C] caught the [G] last train [Am] for the coast the [F] day the [G7] music [C] died,
[ N.C. ] And they were singin'
[CHORUS] - - - - - [C] Bye, [F] bye Miss [C] American [G] Pie, Drove my [C] Chevy to the [F] levy but the [C] levy was [G] dry. Them [C] good old [F] boys were drinkin' [C] whiskey and [G] rye, Singin' [Am*] this will be the day that I [D7*] die, [Am*] this will be the [G7] day that I die
[CHORUS - - - speeding up to regular tempo] - - - - -
Singin' [F] this will be the [G] day that I [C] die [F] [C]
END
[Verse 4] ( below)
[C] Helter skelter [Dm] in a summer swelter, the [F] birds flew off with a [Dm] fallout shelter, [Am] eight miles high and [G] fallin’ fast, It [C] landed [G] foul on the [Am] grass, the [Dm7] players [F] tried for a [Am] forward pass, with the [D7] jester on the [G] sidelines in a cast. Now the [Am*] half-time air was [G*] sweet perfume, while [Am*] sergeants played a [G*] marching tune. We [F] all got [C] up to [D7] dance, but we [F] never got the [G7] chance. ‘Cuz the [C] players [G] tried to [Am] take the field, the [Dm] marching [Fm] band [F] refused to yield. Do [C] you [G] recall [Am] what was revealed the [F] day [G7] the [C] music [F] [C] died, [G] we started singin’
[CHORUS] – – – – – So [C] bye, [F] bye Miss [C] American [G] Pie, Drove my [C] Chevy to the [F] levy but the [C] levy was [G] dry. Them [C] good old [F] boys were drinkin’ [C] whiskey and [G] rye, Singin’ [Am*] this will be the day that I [D7*] die, [Am*] this will be the [G7] day that I die.
[Verse 5] (below)
And [C] there we were all [Dm] in one place; a [F] generation [Dm] lost [Am] in space, with [G] no time left to start again. So come [C] on Jack be [G] nimble, [Am] Jack be quick, [Dm7] Jack Flash sat on a [F] candle, stick, ‘cuz [Am] fire is the [D7] devil’s only [G] friend, And [Am*] as I watched him [G*] on the stage, my [Am*] hands were clenched in [G*] fists of rage. No [F] angel [C] born in [D7] Hell could [F] break that Satan’s [G7] spell. And [C] as the flames [G] climbed high [Am] into the night to [Dm] light the [F] sacrificial rite. I saw [C] Satan [G] laughing [Am] with delight the [F] day the [G7] music [C] died, [F] he was [C] singin’ [G]
[CHORUS] – – – – – So [C] bye, [F] bye Miss [C] American [G] Pie, Drove my [C] Chevy to the [F] levy but the [C] levy was [G] dry. Them [C] good old [F] boys were drinkin’ [C] whiskey and [G] rye, Singin’ [Am*] this will be the day that I [D7*] die, [Am*] this will be the [G7] day that I die
