Bass tablature for Don Mcleans American Pie
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