American Pie Uke tab by Don Mclean (Baritone Chords)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

G G D D
They were singin'....
G G C C G G D D
Bye - bye, Miss American Pie,
G G C C G G D D
drove my chevy to the levee but the levee was dry,
G G C C G G D D
Them good ole' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye, singin'
C C D D G G
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

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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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