[Intro]
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
[Chorus:]
So bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die
[Verse 1]
Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so?
Now do you believe in rock and 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
[Chorus:]
I started singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die
[Verse 2]
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 Lenin read a book on Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
[Chorus:]
We were singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die
[Verse 3]
Helter skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
It landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Now the halftime 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
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?
[Chorus:]
We started singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
And singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die
[Verse 4]
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 sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
[Chorus:]
He was singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
And singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die
[Outro]
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 wouldn’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
[Chorus:]
And they were singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die
[Chorus:]
They were singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
And singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
59 years ago. Damn, now I feel really old. Well, at least I’m still younger than Paul McCartney.
I was in 6th grade attending a Catholic School and since I was a boy scout me and another guy were put in charge of raising the flag every morning. That morning we put it up at half mast. and later toward mid-morning the nuns called us down to the office and wanted to know why the flag was at half mast when we told them Buddy Holly had been killed they look puzzled and said who? obviously one day I will never forget. All in all that was a really tragic day
I guess everybody can put their own slant on what it means.
I always thought “The Jester” was Mick Jagger. The King was Elvis but not sure who the Queen was. The Sergeants were The Beatles.
Driving “my Chevy to the Levee” was just the typical teenagers going parking. The levee being dry means he was out of luck.
There is a huge amount of religious overtones to the song.
I remember my ex buying me the cheap airline ticket to Boston shortly before dumping me. As the flight went thru some turbulence it hit me, Feb 3, 1999. 40 years the Day The Music Died
Gulp . . .
I was about 2 weeks old when that happened. I barely remember.
I know where and when I was when I first heard the song...
I know of no other song that I can say that about.
At the time it struck me, now it is just a song, what does that mean? Hell if I know.
They’re dead, Jim.
Thankful I enjoyed their music from my parents records before I knew what happened to them.
There’s a good documentary from VH1.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvoFBssgHLE
The untimely deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. "Big Bopper" Richardson resulted in a massive "creative hole" in popular music, especially with rock n' roll. That very change made it possible for the rise of the black-oriented Motown style of popular music from 1960 on and eventually the British Invasion that started in the fall of 1963 with the rise of the Beatles.
Great thread. I started googling names and read up on Waylon Jennings. Then I googled his wife Jesse Coulter.
DO NOT GOOGLE IMAGES FOR JESSE COULTER.
I discovered Buddy Holly when I was very young. Circa 1970 at about 10 years old. I now have about 500 albums on vinyl and about a thousand CDs of all kinds of artists. I love Buddy Holly the most out of all of the music I possess.
Later redone by Blondie:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtfXBxLzlFU
