Don Mclean - American Pie

         

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 bye, bye Miss American Pie 
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry 
And them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye 
Singing 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? 
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 dancing 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 singing

Bye, bye Miss American Pie 
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry 
And them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye 
Singing this'll be the day that I die 
This'll be the day that I die 

Now, for ten years we've been on our own 
And moss grows fat on a rolling 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 
We were singing 

Bye, bye Miss American Pie 
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry 
And them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye 
Singing this'll be the day that I die 
This'll be the day that I die 

Helter skelter in a summer swelter 
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter 
Eight miles high and falling fast 
Landed foul 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 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

Bye, bye Miss American Pie 
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry 
And them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye 
Singing this'll be the day that I die 
This'll be the day that I die 

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 
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 
He was singing

Bye, bye Miss American Pie 
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry 
And them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye 
Singing this'll be the day that I die 
This'll be the day that I die 

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 Holy Ghost 
They caught the last train for the coast 
The day the music died 
And they were singing

Bye, bye Miss American Pie 
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry 
And them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye 
Singing this'll be the day that I die 
This'll be the day that I die
they were singing

Bye, bye Miss American Pie 
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry 
And them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye 
Singing this'll be the day that I die 

         

Don Mclean - Vincent

         

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
How you suffered for your sanity
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
Reflecting 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 hands

Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
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 have told you Vincent
This world was never meant for one as
beautiful as you

Starry, starry night
Portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless 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
A silver thorn on a bloody rose
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow

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