Don McLean Album

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

So
{Refrain}
Bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die

Did you write the Book of Love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so
Do you believe in rock 'n 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

I started singin'
{Refrain}

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 Lennon [Lenin?] read a book of Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died

We were singing
{Refrain}

Helter Skelter in a summer swelter
The Byrds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
It landed foul out on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast

Now the half-time 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

We started singing
{Refrain}

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 sacrifical rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died

He was singing
{Refrain}

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 woudn'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

And they were singing
{Refrain}

They were singing bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die

What can this be, can you tell me?
Would you like to discover why we're not free
To be lovers
I've been wanting to ask you
Where has all the love gone
And what have we become
Storm clouds full of thunder
Move silent as they drum
And when they're gone
we'll be fine, till tomorrow
Though I hope it won't rain
You will be mine
And my sorrow
Will take wings in the morning,
High above the heavens
A rainbow paints the sky
White doves sing their songs of love
I watch them as they fly
And wonder what can this be
Can you tell me
Would you like to discover why we're not free
To be lovers

Starry, starry night
Paint your palette blue and gray
Look out on a summer's day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul
Shadows on the hills
Sketch the trees and the daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills
In colors on the snowy linen land

Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now

Starry, starry night
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze
Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue
Colors changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand

Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now

For they could not love you
But still your love was true
And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry, starry night
You took your life, as lovers often do
But I could've told you Vincent
This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you

Starry, starry night
Portraits hung in empty halls
Frame-less heads on nameless walls
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget
Like the strangers that you've met
The ragged men in ragged clothes
The silver thorn of bloody rose
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow

Now I think I know
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they're not listening still
Perhaps they never will

I've got nothing on my mind, nothing to remember
Nothing to forget, I've got nothing to regret
But I'm all tied up on the inside
No one knows quite what I've got
And I know that on the outside, what I used to be, I'm not, anymore
You know I've heard about people like me
But I never made the connection
They walk one road to set them free
And find they've gone the wrong direction

But there's no need for turning back
All roads lead to where I stand
And I believe I'll walk them all
No matter what I might have planned

Can you remember who I was, can you still feel it
Can you find my pain, can you heal it
Then lay your hands upon me now, and cast this darkness from my soul
You alone can light my way, you alone can make me whole, once again
We've walked both sides of every street
Through all kinds of windy weather
But that was never our defeat
As long as we could walk together

But there's no need for turning back
All roads lead to where we stand
And I believe we'll walk them all
No matter what we may have planned

No one can take your place with me
And time has proven that I'm right
There's no place I'd rather be
Than at your place for the night

No time can pass your side on sea
No moment steals away unfound
Lifetime lived in such a dream
Floats like a feather to the ground

And for the first time I've been seeing
The things I'd never notice without you
And for the first time I'm discovering
The things I used to treasure about you

The birds like leaves on Winterwood
Sing hopeful songs on dismal days
They've learned to live life as they should
They are at peace with Nature's ways

You are as natural as the night
And all that springs from you is good
And the children born beneath your life
Are like the birds on Winterwood

And for the first time I've been seeing
The things I'd never notice without you
And for the first time I'm discovering
The things I used to treasure about you

I feel the trembling tingle of a sleepless night
Creep through my fingers and the moon is bright
Beams of blue come flickering through my windowpane
Like gypsy moths that dance around a candle flame

And I wonder if you know
That I never I understood
That although you said you'd go
Until you did - I never thought you would

Moonlight used to bathe the contours of your face
While chestnut hair fell all around the pillowcase
And the fragrance of your flowers rest beneath my head
A sympathy bouquet left with the love that's dead

Never thought the words you said were true
Never thought you said just what you meant
Never knew how much I needed you
Never thought you'd leave - until you went

Morning comes and morning goes with no regret
And evening brings the memories I can't forget
Empty rooms that echo as I climb the stairs
And empty clothes that drape and fall on empty chairs

One, two, three, four!

Fortune has me well in hand, armies wait at my command
My gold lies in a foreign land buried deep beneath the sand
The angels guide my ev'ry tread, my enemies are sick or dead
But all the victories I've led haven't brought you to my bed

You see, everybody loves me, baby, what's the matter with you?
Won'tcha tell me what did I do to offend you?

Now the purest race I've bred for thee to live in my democracy
And the highest human pedigree awaits your first-born boy, baby
And my face on ev'ry coin engraved, the anarchists are all enslaved
My own flag is forever waved by the grateful people I have saved

You see, everybody loves me, baby, what's the matter with you?
Won'tcha tell me what did I do to offend you?

Now, no land is beyond my claim when the land is seized in the people's name
By evil men who rob and maim, if war is hell, I'm not to blame!
Why, you can't blame me, I'm Heaven's child, I'm the second son of Mary mild
And I'm twice removed from Oscar Wilde, but he didn't mind, why, he just smiled

Yes, and the ocean parts when I walk through, and the clouds dissolve and the sky turns blue
I'm held in very great value by everyone I meet but you
'cause I've used my talents as I could, I've done some bad, I've done some good
I did a whole lot better than they thought I would so, c'mon and treat me like you should!

Because everybody loves me, baby, what's the matter with you?
Won'tcha tell me what did I do to offend you?

Everybody loves me, baby, what's the matter with you?
Won'tcha tell me what did I do to offend you?

Yeah, everybody loves me, baby, what's the matter with you?
Won'tcha tell me what did I do to offend you?

The spirit of Fatima still rules the Earth
She knows your future, she knows what it's worth
Sister Fatima has God-given powers
And on 42nd Street a shop that sells flowers
Is her palace, come and be healed

She knows all your business, your health and your ills
She'll counsel your weddings, divorces and wills
For full restoration five dollars an hour
And with each consultation a free holy flower
And if she likes you, well you can have two

And I came from nowhere like you and your friend
My searching and wandering went on without end
My future was dim, my spirit was crushed
In one sacred moment my questions were hushed

I'm a servant of fate in this garden of truth
A humble recruit of the taffeta booth
Where all things are known but few are revealed
Sins are forgotten and sickness is healed
For five dollars the flower is free

The grave that they dug him had flowers
Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colors
And the brown earth bleached white at the edge of his gravestone
He's gone

When the wars of our nation did beckon
A man barely twenty did answer the call
Proud of the trust that he placed in our nation
He's gone
But eternity knows him
And he knows what we've done

And the rain fell like pearls on the leaves of the flowers
Leaving brown muddy clay where the earth had been dry
And deep in the trench, he waited for hours
As he held to his rifle and prayed not to die

But the silence of night was shattered by fire
As guns and grenades blasted sharp through the air
One after another, his comrades were slaughtered
In a morgue of marines, alone standing there

He crouched ever lower, ever lower with fear
"They can't let me die...they can't let me die here!
I'll cover myself with the mud and the earth
I'll cover myself! I know I'm not brave!
The earth...the earth...the earth is my grave..."

The grave that they dug him had flowers
Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colors
And the brown earth bleached white at the edge of his gravestone
He's gone

By the waters, the waters of Babylon
We lay down and wept, and wept, for thee Zion
We remember thee, remember thee, remember thee Zion
(repeated numerous times)