American Pie Uke tab by Don Mclean

7 Chords used in the song: G, D, Em, Am, C, A7, D7

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Tablature / Chords (Full Song)

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Artist: 
Year:  1989
Difficulty: 
3.07
(Beginner)
Key: G, EmChords
G chordG     D chordD    Em chordEm        Am chordAm           C chordC                          
A chordA long, long time ago, I can still remember how
Em chordEm D chordD
that music used to make me smile.
G chordG D chordD Em chordEm Am chordAm C chordC
And I knew if I had my chance that I could make those people dance
Em chordEm C chordC D chordD
and maybe they'd be happy for a while.
Em chordEm Am chordAm Em chordEm Am chordAm
But February made me shiver, with every paper I'd deliver,
C chordC G chordG Am chordAm C chordC D chordD
Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step.
G chordG D chordD Em chordEm C chordC D chordD
I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride,
G chordG D chordD Em chordEm C chordC D chordD G chordG
But something touched me deep inside, the day, the music, died.

G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
So Bye - bye, Miss American Pie,
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
drove my chevy to the levee but the levee was dry,
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
And them good ole' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye, singin'
Em chordEm A7 chordA7 Em chordEm D chordD
This'll be the day that I die, This'll be the day that I die.

G chordG Am chordAm C chordC Am chordAm
Did you write the book of love and do you have faith in God
above,
Em chordEm D chordD D7 chordD7
If the Bible tells you so?
G chordG D chordD Em chordEm
Now do you believe in rock and roll,
Am chordAm C chordC
can music save your mortal soul and
Em chordEm A7 chordA7 D chordD
Can you teach me how to dance real slow?
Em chordEm D chordD
Well, I know that you're in love with him,
Em chordEm D chordD
cause I saw you dancing in the gym.
C chordC G chordG A7 chordA7 C chordC D7 chordD7
You both kicked off your shoes, man I dig those rhythm and blues.
G chordG D chordD Em chordEm
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
Am chordAm C chordC
with a pink carnation and a pickup truck,
G chordG D chordD Em chordEm C chordC D7 chordD7 G chordG C chordC
but I knew I was out of luck the day,the music died.

G chordG D chordD
I started singing...
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
Bye - bye, Miss American Pie,
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
drove my chevy to the levee but the levee was dry,
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
Them good ole' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye, singin'
Em chordEm A7 chordA7 Em chordEm D chordD D7 chordD7
This'll be the day that I die, This'll be the day that I die.

G chordG Am chordAm
Now for ten years we've been on our own,
C chordC Am chordAm
and moss grows fat on a rollin' stone,
Em chordEm D chordD D7 chordD7
but that's not how it used to be.
G chordG D chordD Em chordEm
When the jester sang for the King and Queen,
Am chordAm C chordC
in a coat he borrowed from James Dean,
Em chordEm A7 chordA7 D chordD
and a voice that came from you and me.
Em chordEm D chordD
Oh and while the King was looking down,
Em chordEm D chordD
the jester stole his thorny crown.
C chordC G chordG A7 chordA7 C chordC D7 chordD7
the courtroom was adjourned, no verdict was returned.
G chordG D chordD Em chordEm Am chordAm C chordC
And while Lenin read a book on Marx, the quartet practised in the park,
G chordG D chordD Em chordEm C chordC D7 chordD7 G chordG C chordC
and we sang dirges in the dark the day, the music, died.

G chordG D chordD
We were singin'...
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
Bye - bye, Miss American Pie,
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
drove my chevy to the levee but the levee was dry,
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
Them good ole' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye, singin'
Em chordEm A7 chordA7 Em chordEm D chordD D7 chordD7
This'll be the day that I die, This'll be the day that I die.
G chordG Am chordAm
Helter-skelter in the summer swelter,
C chordC Am chordAm
the birds flew off with a fallout shelter,
Em chordEm D chordD D7 chordD7
eight miles high and fallin' fast.
G chordG D chordD Em chordEm Am chordAm C chordC
It landed foul on the grass, the players tried for a forward pass,
Em chordEm A7 chordA7 D chordD
with the jester on the sidelines in a cast.

Em chordEm D chordD
Now that halftime air was sweet perfume,
Em chordEm D chordD
while the sergeants played a marching tune,
C chordC G chordG A7 chordA7 C chordC D7 chordD7
we all got up to dance, oh but we never got the chance,
G chordG D chordD Em chordEm
`cause the players tried to take the field,
Am chordAm C chordC
the marching band refused to yield,
G chordG D chordD Em chordEm C chordC D7 chordD7 G chordG C chordC
do you recall what was revealed, the day, the music, died.

G chordG D chordD
We started singin'...
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
Bye - bye, Miss American Pie,
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
drove my chevy to the levee but the levee was dry,
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
Them good ole' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye, singin'
Em chordEm A7 chordA7 Em chordEm D chordD D7 chordD7
This'll be the day that I die, This'll be the day that I die.

G chordG Am chordAm
Oh, and there we were all in one place
C chordC Am chordAm Em chordEm D chordD
A chordA generation lost in space with no time left to start again.
G chordG D chordD Em chordEm
So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick,
Am chordAm C chordC Em chordEm A7 chordA7 D chordD
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick ‘cause fire is the devil’s only friend.
Em chordEm D chordD
Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
Em chordEm D chordD
My hands were clenched in fists of rage.
C chordC G chordG A7 chordA7 C chordC D7 chordD7
No angel born in hell could break that Satan’s spell.
G chordG D chordD Em chordEm
And as the flames climbed high into the night
Am chordAm C chordC G chordG D chordD Em chordEm
To light the sacrificial rite, I saw Satan laughing with delight,
C chordC D7 chordD7 G chordG C chordC
The day the music died.

G chordG D chordD
He was singing
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
Bye - bye, Miss American Pie,
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
drove my chevy to the levee but the levee was dry,
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
Them good ole' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye, singin'
Em chordEm A7 chordA7 Em chordEm D chordD
This'll be the day that I die, This'll be the day that I die.

G chordG D chordD Em chordEm Am chordAm C chordC
I met a girl who sang the blues and I asked her for some happy news,
Em chordEm D chordD
but she just smiled and turned away.
G chordG D chordD Em chordEm Am chordAm C chordC
I went down to the sacred store where I’d heard the music years before,
Em chordEm C chordC D chordD
but the man there said the music wouldn't play.
Em chordEm Am chordAm
And in the streets the children screamed,
Em chordEm Am chordAm
the lovers cried and the poets dreamed,
C chordC G chordG Am chordAm C chordC Am chordAm
but not a word was spoken, the church bells all were broken.
G chordG D chordD Em chordEm G chordG Am chordAm D chordD
And the three men I admire most, the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
G chordG D chordD Em chordEm C chordC D chordD G chordG
they caught the last train for the coast the day, the music, died.
D chordD
And they were singin'....
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
Bye - bye, Miss American Pie,
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
drove my chevy to the levee but the levee was dry,
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
Them good ole' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye, singin'
C chordC D chordD G chordG
This'll be the day that I die.
C chordC D chordD G chordG C chordC
This'll be the day that I die.

G chordG D chordD
They were singin'....
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
Bye - bye, Miss American Pie,
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
drove my chevy to the levee but the levee was dry,
G chordG C chordC G chordG D chordD
Them good ole' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye, singin'
C chordC D chordD G chordG
This'll be the day that I die.

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Uke tab by , 06 Nov 2009

Tab comments (7)

Something to say?
Share your strumming patterns, chords or tips to play this tab! ;)
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lana1224 avatar
intro/outro - single strum
chorus - DUDUDU
verse - DDUUDU
11 Sep 2019
Strumming pattern
lucas_prosdocimo avatar
I think it's DDU and some parts DDUUDU
09 Jul 2019
Strumming pattern
Local_sinner666 avatar
stumming pattern please
18 Jan 2019
Comment
Local_sinner666 avatar
stumming pattern?
18 Jan 2019
Question
ming04 avatar
flag for PH(ISO2) (cabanatuan)
may use A chord rather than A7 if you feel uncomfortable with the sound A7 after an Em chord
05 Dec 2017
Correction
Stevohen avatar
flag for ZA(ISO2) (Durban)
You can end with G-C-G... This is awesome!
09 Mar 2010
Correction
KingMambo avatar
Excellent
19 Dec 2009
Comment

About this song: American Pie

"American Pie" is a folk rock song by singer-songwriter Don McLean. Recorded and released on the American Pie album in 1971, the single was a number-one U.S. hit for four weeks in 1972. A re-release in 1991 did not chart in the U.S., but reached number 12 in the UK. The song is an abstract story surrounding "The Day the Music Died" -- the 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (Giles Perry Richardson, Jr.).

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