The Day The Music Died

February 3, 1959

Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson were killed when their plan crashed in Iowa a few minutes after takeoff on a flight from Mason City to Moorehead, Minnesota. And years later Don McLean's American Pie The Day the Music Died became a song that millions will came to recognize and love.

One fond memory I have as a teenager is of my dad and I watching the movie Buddy Holly and him telling me about the story and the music. A few months later I bought my dad a music tape of Buddy Holly and to this day when I listen to any of those songs, it makes me think of him and I smile.

They always say that music connects people and in this particular instance when nothing I did or said seemed to connect with my dad, Buddy Holly music never failed to!

Lyrics American Pie
Verse 1

A long long time agoI can still remember how that music used to make me smileAnd I knew if I had my chance That I could make those people danceAnd maybe they'd be happy for a whileBut February made me shiverWith every paper I'd deliverBad news on the doorstepI couldn't take one more stepI can't remember if I criedWhen I read about his widowed brideBut something touched me deep insideThe day the music died

{Refrain}

So, bye-bye, Miss American PieDrove my chevy to the leveeBut the levee was dryAnd them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and ryeSingin' this'll be the day that I dieThis'll be the day that I die

Verse 2
Did you write the Book of LoveAnd do you have faith in God aboveIf the Bible tells you soDo you believe in rock n' rollCan music save your mortal soulAnd can you teach me how to dance real slowWell, I know that you're in love with him'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gymYou both kicked off your shoesMan, I dig those rhythm & bluesI was a lonely, teenage broncin' buckWith a pink carnation and a pickup truckBut I knew I was out of luckThe day the music diedI started singin'

{Refrain}

Verse 3
Now for ten years we've been on our ownAnd moss grows fat on a rollin' stoneBut that's not how it used to beWhen the Jester sang for the King and QueenIn a coat he borrowed from James DeanIn a voice that came from you and me Oh, and while the King was looking downThe Jester stole his thorny crownThe courtroom was adjournedNo verdict was returnedAnd while Lenin read a book on MarxThe quartet practiced in the parkAnd we sang dirges in the darkThe day the music died We were singin'

{Refrain}

Verse 4
Helter Skelter in a summer swelterThe birds flew off with a fallout shelterEight miles high and falling fastIt landed foul on the grassThe players tried for a forward passWith the Jester on the sidelines in a castNow the half-time air was sweet perfumeWhile the Sergeants played a marching tuneWe all got up to danceOh but we never got the chance'Cause the players tried to take the fieldThe marching band refused to yieldDo you recall what was revealedThe day the music diedWe started singing

{Refrain}

Verse 5
Oh, and there we were, all in one placeA generation lost in spaceWith no time left to start againSo come on, Jack, be nimble, Jack be quickJack Flash sat on a candlestick'Cause fire is the devils only friendOh, and as I watched him on the stageMy hands were clenched in fists of rageNo angel born in Hell Could break that Satan's spellAnd as flames climbed high into the nightTo light the sacrificial riteI saw Satan laughing with delightThe day the music diedHe was singing

{Refrain}

Verse 6
I met a girl who sang the bluesAnd I asked her for some happy newsBut she just smiled and turned awayI went down to the sacred storeWhere I'd heard the music years beforeBut the man there said the music wouldn't play
And in the streets the children screamedThe lovers cried, and the poets dreamedBut not a word was spokenThe church bells all were brokenAnd the three men I admire mostThe Father, Son and the Holy GhostThey caught the last train for the coastThe day the music diedAnd they were singin'

{Refrain}

Bye-bye, Miss American PieDrove my chevy to the levyBut the levy was dryAnd them good old boys were drinking whiskey and ryeSinging this'll be the day that I die
They were singin'Bye-bye, Miss American PieDrove my chevy to the levyBut the levy was dryAnd them good old boys were drinking whiskey and ryeSinging this'll be the day that I die