A long, long time ago- February 3rd, 1959… People were thrilled by the stylings of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens. I can still remember how that music used to make me smile. You see, I was an aspiring musician then, and I knew (if I had my chance) that I could make those people dance, and maybe, just maybe they’d be happy for a while as they forgot about the world around them… But February made me shiver, I'd get reminded of their fate with every paper I’d deliver… There was bad news on the doorstep of every house- I felt like I couldn’t take one more step.
I can’t remember if I cried, when I read about his widowed bride… I don't remember everything, but I recall something touched me deep inside that terrible day the music died.
So… Bye, bye Ms. American Pie… An American icon now forgotten… To try to get over it, I drove my girl in my Chevy to the levee but, the levee was dry if you know what I mean…
I know them good ol’ boys were drinking whisky and rye, singing, "This will be the day that I die… This will be the day that I die!" just like they used to…
Oh, the questions I would've asked, like did you write the Book of Love, and do you have faith in God above (if the Bible tells you so)… Do you believe in rock n roll? Do you think music can save your mortal soul? And then you can teach me to dance real slow?
I still have problems of my own, though- like baby, don't lie, I know that you’re in love with him 'cause I saw you dancing in the gym… You both kicked off your shoes… I should've been angry, but man I dig those rhythm and blues… I was just a lonely teenage broncin’ buck, with a pink carnation and a pickup truck but I knew for sure that I was out of luck the day the music died…
Now for 60 years we’ve been on our own, and moss grows fat on a Rolling Stone, but that’s not how it used to be… I remember 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…
And while the Elvis, the King, was looking down, the Jester, Bob Dylan stole the thorny crown of the people's adoration… He was 'put to trial', but when the courtroom was adjourned it turned out that no verdict was returned. While Lennon read a book on Marx, the Beatle's quartet kept practice in Chea park while we sang dirges in the dark the day the music died…
I remember listening to 'Helter Skelter' in the summer swelter, while The Byrds flew off with the fallout shelter… I was eight miles high and falling fast. Oh, that reminds me… One of the Byrds landed a foul on the possession of grass.
The players tried for a forward pass
With the Jester, Dylan, on the sidelines in a cast from his motorcycle accident,
Now the halftime air was sweet perfume, while state guard sergeants played a marching tune. We all got up to dance, but we never got the chance… You see, the Ohio State Guard players tried to take the field, the marching band refused to yield- they called it the Kent State Massacre.
Do you recall what was revealed, the day the music died?
There we were all in one place, Altamont Motor Speedway, California in 1969… We were a generation lost in space, with no time left to start again. I remember the Stones singing something about Jack Flash and a candle stick 'cause fire is the devil’s only friend…
As I watched them on the stage, my hands were clenched in fists of rage… The Stones had hired the Hell's Angels to do their security, but no angel born in hell could break that satan’s spell when the riots started… And as flames climbed high into the night to light the 'sacrificial rite', I saw satan laughing with delight the day the music died.
I met a girl who sang the blues, Joplin was her name, and I asked her for some happy news but she… just smiled and 'turned away', to never be heard again…
After all this had transpired, 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 grief was too great…
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed… But not a word was spoken- we were all to morose to say anything… Even the church bells all were broken.
And the three men I admire most- the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost they… They caught the 'last train for the coast' the day the music died…