American Pie es una canción del cantante y compositor estadounidense Don McLean. Grabada y lanzada en un álbum con el mismo nombre en 1971, es un homenaje nostálgico a la era del rock and roll y un comentario sobre cómo cambió la música después de la muerte de Buddy Holly. La frase el día que murió la música se refiere al accidente aéreo del 3 de febrero de 1959, que mató a Holly y a otros músicos.
Tono: G
G
D/F#
Em7
A long, long time ago
Am
C
Em
D
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
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Em7
And I knew if I had my chance
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C
Em
C
D
That I could make those people dance 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/B
Am
C
D
Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step
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D/F#
Em
Am7
D
I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride
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D/F#
Em
Something touched me deep inside
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D7
G
The day the music died
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C
G
D
So bye, bye Miss American Pie
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C
G
D
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
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C
G
D
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Em
*
A7
*
Em
*
D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
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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?
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D/F#
Em
Do you believe in rock and roll
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C
Em
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D
Can music save your mortal soul and can you teach me how to dance real slow?
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*
D
*
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* Well I know that you're in love with him 'cuz I saw you dancin' in the gym
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G/B
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D7
You both kicked off your shoes, man I dig those rhythm and blues
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D/F#
Em
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C
I was a lonely teenage bronckin' buck with a pink carnation and a pickup truck
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Em
C
D7
G
C
G
D
But I knew I was out of luck the day the music died, I started singin'
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C
G
D
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
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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
*
Em
*
D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
G
Am
Now for ten years we've been on our own
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Am
Em
D
and moss grows fat on a rolling stone but that's not how it used to be
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D/F#
Em
When the jester sang for the king and queen
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C
Em
A7
D
in a coat he borrowed from James Dean in a voice that came from you and me
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*
D
*
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* Oh, and while the king was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown
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G/B
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C
D7
The courtroom was adjourned, no verdict was returned
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Em
Am
C
And while Lennin read a book on Marx, the quartet practiced in the park
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Em
C
D7
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C
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And we sang dirges in the dark the day the music died, we were singin'
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C
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D
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
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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
*
Em
*
D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
G
Am
Helter skelter in a summer swelter
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Am
Em
D
the birds flew off with a fallout shelter, eight miles high and fallin' fast
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Em
It landed foul on the grass
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Em
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the players tried for a forward pass, with the jester on the sidelines in a cast
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*
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* Now the half-time air was sweet perfume, while sergeants played a marching tune
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G/B
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D7
We all got up to dance, but we never got the chance
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D/F#
Em
Am
Cm
C
'Cuz the players tried to take the field, the marching band refused to yield
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Em
C
D7
G
C
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D
Do you recall what was revealed the day the music died, we started singin'
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C
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D
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
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C
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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
*
Em
*
D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
G
Am
And there we were all in one place
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Am
Em
D
a generation lost in space, with no time left to start again
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Em
Am7
C
So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack Flash sat on a candle
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D
stick, 'cuz fire is the devil's only friend
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D
*
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D
* And as I watched him on the stage, my hands were clenched in fists of rage
C
G/B
A7
C
D7
No angel born in Hell could break that Satan's spell
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D/F#
Em
Am
C
And as the flames climbed high into the night to light the sacrificial rite
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Em
C
D7
G
C
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D
I saw Satan laughing with delight the day the music died, he was singin'
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C
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D
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
*
Em
*
D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
G
D/F#
Em
I met a girl who sang the blues
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C
Em
D
And I asked her for some happy news, but she just smiled and turned away
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D/F#
Em
I went down to the sacred store
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C
Em
C
Where I'd heard the music years before, but the man there said the music
D
wouldn't play
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Am
*
Em
*
Am
* But in the streets the children screamed, the lovers cried and the poets dreamed
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C
D
But not a word was spoken, the church bells all were broken
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Em
Am7
C
D7
And the three men I admire most, the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
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Em
C
D7
G
They caught the last train for the coast the day the music died, N.C.
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C
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D
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
*
Em
*
D7
Singin' this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die
G
C
G
D
They were singin' 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