Bye, Bye, American Pie

"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'd deliver.
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step.

I can't remember if I cried
when I read about his widowed bride,
but something touched me deep inside
the day the music died.

So, bye-bye, Miss American Pie
drove my chevy to the levee
but the levee was dry,
and them good old boys were
drinkin' whiskey and rye
singin' this'll be the day that I die,
this'll 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?
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 dancin' in the gym.
You both kicked off your shoes,
man, I dig those rhythm and blues.

I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
with a pink carnation and a pickup truck,
but I knew I was out of luck
the day the music died.

I started singin'
bye-bye, Miss American Pie
drove my chevy to the levee
but the levee was dry,
and them good old boys were
drinkin' whiskey and rye
singin' this'll be the day that I die,
this'll be the day that I die.

Now for ten years we've been on our own
and moss grows fat on a 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 courtroom was adjourned,
no verdict was returned.
And while Lennon read a book of 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 levee
but the levee was dry,
and them good old boys were
drinkin' whiskey and rye
singin' this'll be the day that I die,
this'll be the day that I die.

Helter Skelter in a summer swelter
the Byrds flew off with a fallout shelter,
eight miles high and falling fast.
It landed foul out on the grass
the players tried for a forward pass
with the jester on the sidelines in a cast.

Now the half-time air was sweet perfume,
while the 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
But 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 levee
but the levee was dry,
and them good old boys were
drinkin' whiskey and rye
singin' this'll be the day that I die,
this'll be the day that I die.

Oh, and there we were all in one place
a generation lost in space,
with no time left to start again.
So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'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 flames climbed high into the night
to light the sacrifical 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 levee
but the levee was dry,
and them good old boys were
drinkin' whiskey and rye
singin' this'll be the day that I die,
this'll be the day that I die.

I met a girl who sang the blues
and I asked her for some happy news,
but 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 woudn'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 levee
but the levee was dry,
and them good old boys were
drinkin' whiskey and rye
singin' this'll be the day that I die,
this'll be the day that I die.

They were singing bye-bye,
Miss American Pie
drove my chevy to the levee
but the levee was dry,
them good old boys were
drinking whiskey and rye
singin' this'll be the day that I die."
- Song by Don McLean

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