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"American Pie" (updated, much grimmer)

  • pmcarp4
  • Sep 21
  • 4 min read

Not too too long ago

I can still remember how the music made me smile

And I knew if we had our chance

That it could make us people dance

And maybe we'd be happy for a while


But January made me shiver

With every paper I'd read hither

Bad news on the doorstep

I couldn't take one more hep


I can't remember if I cried

When I read about his constant snide

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 ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye

Singin' this'll be the day that we die

This'll be the day that we die


Did you write the book of shove

When you had faith in God above

Since the Bible told you so?

Now do you believe in rock and roll?

Can maga save your wretched soul?

No you can't force us to enjoy the blows


Well, I know that you're in love with him

'Cause I saw you votin' in the gym

You both kicked off your Hessian shoes

Man, I hate your exacting blues


I was once a high-hopin' puck

With a pink carnation and no no pickup truck

But I knew we were really fucked

The day the good music died


I started singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry

Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye

Singin' this'll be the day that we die

This'll be the day that we die


For eight months we've been on our own

And moss grows fat on a plummeting stone

But that's not how it used to be

Before the jester sang for the king and queen

With hair he borrowed from James Dean

And a voice that came from an awful key


Oh, and while the king was looking down

The jester stole his thorny crown

The courtroom was adjourned

No get-lost verdict was returned


And while Mister Vought 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 our Chevies to the levee but the levee was dry

Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye

Singin' this'll be the day that we die

This'll be the day that we die


Helter skelter in a summer swelter

The birds flew off in a fallout shelter

Eight miles high and spiralin' fast

It landed foul on the grass

We players tried for a forward pass

The jester on the sidelines with a plentiful cast


Now the halftime air was sick perfume

While the fascist goons played a marching tune

We all got up to dance

Oh, but we never got the chance


'Cause we players tried to take the field

The marching thugs refused to yield

Do you recall what was revealed

The day the music died?


We started singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie

Drove our Chevies to the levee but the levee was dry

Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye

And singin' this'll be the day that we die

This'll be the day that we die


Oh, and there we were all in one place

Three generations 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 we watched him on the stage

Our 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

We saw Satan laughing with delight

The day the music died


He was singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie

Drove his tumbrel to the gallows and the blade was high

Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye

And singin' this'll be the day that we die

This'll be the day that we 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 forsaken screamed

The lovers cried and the poets dreamed

But not a word was spoken

The church bells all were broken


And the two men I admire most

FDR and the Holy Ghost

They caught the last train for the coast

The day the music died


And they were singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie

They offered some gumption to our will but its well was dry

So them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye

Singin' this'll be the day that we die

This'll be the day that we die


Now we're all singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie

Drove our Chevies to the levee but the levee was dry

Them good ole boys are drinking whiskey 'n rye

And singin' this'll be the day that we die



***

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