American Pie: Second verse (typical of all verses…slight differences)
(Verse) G Am C Am
G——————————————4—5———-5—–4————
D———-5——-5-5———-7—–7-7———–5————–7———
A—————————————————————————-
E—————————————————————————-
…Now for ten years we’ve been on our own and moss grows fat on a rollin’
Em D
—————–9————7—-7——-7-5-4—————————–
—-7-5——7/9—9——————7———-7-5-4———————–
-7——7–7——————————————-7—-5—————-
—————————————————————————–
stone but that’s not how it used to be… When the
G D Em Am7 C
————————————————————4-5————-5
–5—5–4——————————–7———7——————–5—
———————-7——–7—————7—————————–
—————————7—–7—5—————————————
Jester sang for the King and Queen in a coat he’d borrowed from James Dean
Em A7 D
–4————————————————–4-7——-4-7-4—4—–
—-7-5—————–7——-7-5-4————4-7——-4-7——-7——-
——–7—–7-7————-7——-7——-5———-5——————-
—————————————————————————–
and a voice that came from you and me Oh and
Em D Em D
—————————————————————————–
—————————————————————————–
–7——————5—————–7—————-5——————–
—————————————————————————–
While the King was looking down, the Jester stole his thorny crown
C G A7 C D7
–5—5—–5–4—4—————————–2-5-2—2——-4-7———
———————7———-7–5—5—–2-5——-5—–4-7————-
——————————7——7—–3—————5—————–
—————————————————————————–
The court room was adjourned… no verdict was returned…
G D Em Am C
————————————-7-9p7———————–4–5—-5-4-
——–4—5—–5-4–4———7/9——-9—7——-7-7————-5—–
–5—7——————7—-7———————————————-
—————————————————————————–
And while Lenin read a book of Marx the quartet practiced in the park
G D Em C
——————————-7-9p7—–5–5-5—5—6/7-7-6/7-7-6/7-7-6/7-7
–7—5—–5-4—-4——-7/9——-9—————————————
———————7–7—————————————————-
—————————————————————————–
and we sang dirges in the dark The day the music
G C G D (Chorus) G C G D
—————————————–|———————————–
–5-5-5-5—–2-5—5-5-5-5—–2-4——|-5-5-5-5—–2—5-5-5-5-5———
———-3-3—————5-5———-|———3-3—————5-5—–
—————————————–|———————————–
died… We were singing… Bye bye Miss American pie
G C G D G C
—————————————————————————–
-2—–4–5-5—5–5——–2—5—5-5-5-5——2-4—-5-5-5-5————–
———————–3-3——————-5-5—————–3—-3——
—————————————————————————–
drove my chevy to the levy but the levy was dry them good old boys were
G D Em A7
—————————————————————————–
-2—5—5—5—5—5——4—7—————————–7————–
————————5-5———7—————————————-
—————————————————————————–
drinkin whiskey and rye — singin’ this’ll be the day that I die…
Em D7 (Start Of Verse)
————————————-7-7–5-5–4-4——-|——————-
—————————————————-7-7–|—5—————
-7————————-5—–5-5———————|——————-
———————————————————|——————-
this’ll be the day that I die…
Notes: Timing is approximate, you’ll need to listen to the recording.
p = pull, / = slide up. Other verses follow a similar although
slightly different pattern but this one is representative of
them all.
Drop me a line at [email protected] if you have any questions
or comments. Enjoy!
— Mark
