{"id":35971,"date":"2017-01-30T12:00:44","date_gmt":"2017-01-30T12:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=35971"},"modified":"2026-02-22T17:43:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T17:43:20","slug":"american-pie-the-day-the-music-died-music-video-of-the-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2017\/01\/american-pie-the-day-the-music-died-music-video-of-the-week\/","title":{"rendered":"American Pie &#8211; The Day the Music Died (Music Video of the Week)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\">1972 Immortal Classic. After composing this tribute song Don McLean gave up Rock \u2019n&#8217; Roll. The plane crash that changed the 60&#8217;s music.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><i>\u201cI was fortunate enough to go to the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake IA and speak firsthand with many who were there including Tommy Allsup who flipped the coin with Ritchie Valens.\u201d<\/i> \u2013 Lone Star, composer of this video.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">[<strong>Watch also by Don McLean &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2017\/03\/vincent-starry-starry-night-music-video-of-the-week\/\" ><em>Vincent-Starry Starry Night<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Don McLean - The meaning of American Pie (UPDATE)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VsZFiMo8TIc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>LYRICS<\/b><br \/>\n<i>[Intro]<\/i><br \/>\nA long, long time ago<br \/>\nI can still remember how that music used to make me smile<br \/>\nAnd I knew if I had my chance<br \/>\nThat I could make those people dance<br \/>\nAnd maybe they&#8217;d be happy for a while<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">But February made me shiver<br \/>\nWith every paper I&#8217;d deliver<br \/>\nBad news on the doorstep<br \/>\nI couldn&#8217;t take one more step<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">I can&#8217;t remember if I cried<br \/>\nWhen I read about his widowed bride<br \/>\nBut something touched me deep inside<br \/>\nThe day the music died<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i>[Chorus]<\/i><br \/>\nSo bye-bye, Miss American Pie<br \/>\nDrove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry<br \/>\nAnd them good old boys were drinkin&#8217; whiskey and rye<br \/>\nSingin&#8217; &#8220;This&#8217;ll be the day that I die<br \/>\nThis&#8217;ll be the day that I die&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i>[Verse 1]<\/i><br \/>\nDid you write the book of love<br \/>\nAnd do you have faith in God above<br \/>\nIf the Bible tells you so?<br \/>\nNow do you believe in rock and roll<br \/>\nCan music save your mortal soul<br \/>\nAnd can you teach me how to dance real slow?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Well, I know that you&#8217;re in love with him<br \/>\n&#8216;Cause I saw you dancin&#8217; in the gym<br \/>\nYou both kicked off your shoes<br \/>\nMan, I dig those rhythm and blues<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">I was a lonely teenage broncin&#8217; buck<br \/>\nWith a pink carnation and a pickup truck<br \/>\nBut I knew I was out of luck<br \/>\nThe day the music died<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i>[Chorus]<\/i><br \/>\nI started singin&#8217; bye-bye, Miss American Pie<br \/>\nDrove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry<br \/>\nThem good old boys were drinkin&#8217; whiskey and rye<br \/>\nSingin&#8217; &#8220;This&#8217;ll be the day that I die<br \/>\nThis&#8217;ll be the day that I die&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i>[Verse 2]<\/i><br \/>\nNow for ten years we&#8217;ve been on our own<br \/>\nAnd moss grows fat on a rollin&#8217; stone<br \/>\nBut that&#8217;s not how it used to be<br \/>\nWhen the jester sang for the king and queen<br \/>\nIn a coat he borrowed from James Dean<br \/>\nAnd a voice that came from you and me<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Oh, and while the king was looking down<br \/>\nThe jester stole his thorny crown<br \/>\nThe courtroom was adjourned<br \/>\nNo verdict was returned<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">And while Lenin read a book on Marx<br \/>\nA quartet practiced in the park<br \/>\nAnd we sang dirges in the dark<br \/>\nThe day the music died<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i>[Chorus]<\/i><br \/>\nWe were singin&#8217; bye-bye, Miss American Pie<br \/>\nDrove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry<br \/>\nThem good old boys were drinkin&#8217; whiskey and rye<br \/>\nSingin&#8217; &#8220;This&#8217;ll be the day that I die<br \/>\nThis&#8217;ll be the day that I die&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i>[Verse 3]<\/i><br \/>\nHelter skelter in a summer swelter<br \/>\nThe birds flew off with a fallout shelter<br \/>\nEight miles high and falling fast<br \/>\nIt landed foul on the grass<br \/>\nThe players tried for a forward pass<br \/>\nWith the jester on the sidelines in a cast<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Now the halftime air was sweet perfume<br \/>\nWhile the sergeants played a marching tune<br \/>\nWe all got up to dance<br \/>\nOh, but we never got the chance<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8216;Cause the players tried to take the field<br \/>\nThe marching band refused to yield<br \/>\nDo you recall what was revealed<br \/>\nThe day the music died?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i>[Chorus]<\/i><br \/>\nWe started singin&#8217; bye-bye, Miss American Pie<br \/>\nDrove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry<br \/>\nThem good old boys were drinkin&#8217; whiskey and rye<br \/>\nAnd singin&#8217; &#8220;This&#8217;ll be the day that I die<br \/>\nThis&#8217;ll be the day that I die&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i>[Verse 4]<\/i><br \/>\nOh, and there we were all in one place<br \/>\nA generation lost in space<br \/>\nWith no time left to start again<br \/>\nSo come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick<br \/>\nJack Flash sat on a candlestick<br \/>\n&#8216;Cause fire is the devil&#8217;s only friend<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Oh, and as I watched him on the stage<br \/>\nMy hands were clenched in fists of rage<br \/>\nNo angel born in Hell<br \/>\nCould break that Satan&#8217;s spell<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">And as the flames climbed high into the night<br \/>\nTo light the sacrificial rite<br \/>\nI saw Satan laughing with delight<br \/>\nThe day the music died<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">He was singin&#8217; bye-bye, Miss American Pie<br \/>\nDrove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry<br \/>\nThem good old boys were drinkin&#8217; whiskey and rye<br \/>\nAnd singin&#8217; &#8220;This&#8217;ll be the day that I die<br \/>\nThis&#8217;ll be the day that I die&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i>[Outro]<\/i><br \/>\nI met a girl who sang the blues<br \/>\nAnd I asked her for some happy news<br \/>\nBut she just smiled and turned away<br \/>\nI went down to the sacred store<br \/>\nWhere I&#8217;d heard the music years before<br \/>\nBut the man there said the music wouldn&#8217;t play<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">And in the streets, the children screamed<br \/>\nThe lovers cried and the poets dreamed<br \/>\nBut not a word was spoken<br \/>\nThe church bells all were broken<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">And the three men I admire most<br \/>\nThe Father, Son and the Holy Ghost<br \/>\nThey caught the last train for the coast<br \/>\nThe day the music died<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">And they were singin&#8217; bye-bye, Miss American Pie<br \/>\nDrove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry<br \/>\nAnd them good old boys were drinkin&#8217; whiskey and rye<br \/>\nSingin&#8217; &#8220;This&#8217;ll be the day that I die<br \/>\nThis&#8217;ll be the day that I die&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i>[Chorus]<\/i><br \/>\nThey were singin&#8217; bye-bye, Miss American Pie<br \/>\nDrove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry<br \/>\nThem good old boys were drinkin&#8217; whiskey and rye<br \/>\nAnd singin&#8217; &#8220;This&#8217;ll be the day that I die&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1972 Immortal Classic. After composing this tribute song Don McLean gave up Rock \u2019n&#8217; Roll. The plane crash that changed the 60&#8217;s music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-video-of-the-week"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35971"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":313579,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35971\/revisions\/313579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}