THE HISTORY OF THE TAB:

 Though I take credit for this song, many people 
worked on this tab. Lazy Guitar is the one who 
suggested and coordinated this project to begin 
with.Since I had already recorded a piano version of 
this song to MIDI, with the basic accompaniment, I laid 
out a basic tab. Lazy passed it on to Chuzchy, who 
tweaked  the bass, guitar, & drums; he also added the 
lead guitar and lyrics. Stepinmyshoes filled out the 
rhythm guitar. Lazy Guitar then put the finishing touches 
to the whole song. 
Thanks also to Black Dog for adding the red, white, 
and blue color scheme.

"THEN STEPINMYSHOES RUINED THE WHOLE 
THING"

Keep in mind if you are playing the piano part, the 
score needs to be transposed -12, and GP does not 
allow some things such as double grace notes, sustain 
pedal, or 2 different note durations within the same 
space in the score.

THE HISTORY OF THE SONG:

  Don McLean has never issued an "answer key" for 
"American Pie," undoubtedly on the theory that as 
long as you can keep 'em guessing, your legend will 
never die.

  He's probably right. Still, he's dropped a few hints. 
Straight Dope musicologist Stefan Daystrom taped the 
following intro from Casey Kasem's "American Top 40" 
radio show circa January 1972: "A few days ago we 
phoned Don McLean for a little help in interpreting his 
great hit 'American Pie.' He was pretty reluctant to give 
us a straight interpretation of his work; he'd rather let it 
speak for itself. But he explained some of the specific 
references that he makes. 

  The most important one is the death of rockabilly 
singer Buddy Holly in 1959; for McLean, that's when 
the music died. The court jester he refers to is Bob 
Dylan. The Stones and the flames in the sky refer to 
the concert at Altamont, California.  And McLean goes 
on, painting his picture," blah blah, segue to record.

  Not much to go on, but at least it rules out the Christ 
imagery. For the rest we turn to the song's legion of 
freelance interpreters, whose thoughts were most 
recently compiled by Rich Kulawiec into a file that I 
plucked from the Internet. (I love the Internet.) No 
room to reprint all the lyrics, which you probably 
haven't been able to forget anyway, but herewith the 
high points:

- February made me shiver: Holly's plane crashed 
February 3, 1959.

- Them good ole boys were ... singing "This'll be the 
day that I die": Holly's hit "That'll Be the Day" had a 
similar line.

- The Jester sang for the King and Queen in a coat he 
borrowed from James Dean: ID of K and Q obscure. 
Elvis and Connie Francis (or Little Richard)? John and 
Jackie Kennedy? Or Queen Elizabeth and consort, for 
whom Dylan apparently did play once? Dean's coat is 
the famous red windbreaker he wore in Rebel Without 
a Cause; Dylan wore a similar one on "The 
Freewheeling Bob Dylan" album cover.

- With the Jester on the sidelines in a cast: On July 29, 
1966 Dylan had a motorcycle accident that kept him 
laid up for nine months.

- While sergeants played a marching tune: The 
Beatles' "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club 
Band."

- And as I watched him on the stage/ my 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: Mick Jagger, Altamont.

- I met a girl who sang the blues/ And I asked her for 
some happy news/ But she just smiled and turned 
away: Janis Joplin OD'd October 4, 1970.

- The three men I admire most/ The Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost/ They caught the last train for the coast: 
Major mystery. Holly, Bopper, Valens? Hank Williams, 
Elvis, Holly? JFK, RFK, ML King? The literal tripartite 
deity? As for the coast, could be the departure of the 
music biz for California. Or it simply rhymes, a big 
determinant of plot direction in pop music lyrics (which 
may also explain "drove my Chevy to the levee"). Best 
I can do for now.