American Pie by Don McLean (Copyright Don McLean and MCA Records)

Exercise designed by Viv Quarry (www.vivquarry.com)

Before listening to the song, revise the simple past and past participle forms of all of the irregular verbs in the song.

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense, voice or aspect - present, past, perfect, passive, continuous, gerund or infinitive. (Include modal verbs - would, could, used to, and auxiliary verbs - do, does, did, where necessary, but don't forget that in normal spoken English they are contracted - eg. I'd have done).

A long long time ago

I ___________________ (still remember) how that music ___________________ (make) me smile

And I ___________________ (know) if I ___________________ (have) my chance

That I ___________________ (make) those people ___________________ (dance)

And maybe they ___________________ (be) happy for a while.

But February ___________________ (make) me ___________________ (shiver)

With every paper I ___________________ (deliver)

Bad news on the doorstep

I ___________________ (take) one more step

I ___________________ (remember) if I ___________________ (cry)

When I ___________________ (read) about his widowed bride

But something ___________________ (touch) me deep inside

The day the music ___________________ (die)

{Chorus}

So bye-bye, Miss American Pie

___________________ (Drive) my chevy to the levee

But the levee ___________________ (be) dry

And them good old boys ___________________ (drink) whiskey and rye

___________________ (Sing) this ___________________ (be) the day that I ___________________ (die)

This ___________________ (be) the day that I ___________________ (die)

___________________ you___________________(write) the Book of Love

And ___________________ you ___________________(have) faith in God above

If the Bible ___________________ (tell) you so

___________________ you___________________ (believe) in rock 'n roll

___________________ music___________________(save) your mortal soul

And ___________________ you ___________________(teach) me how ___________________ (dance) real slow

Well, I ___________________ (know) that you ___________________ (be) in love with him

'Cause I ___________________ (see) you ___________________ (dance) in the gym

You both ___________________ (kick) off your shoes

Man, I ___________________ (dig)those rhythm and blues

I ___________________ (be) a lonely teenage broncin' buck

With a pink carnation and a pickup truck

But I ___________________ (know) I ___________________ (be) out of luck

The day the music ___________________ (die)

I ___________________ (start) ___________________ (sing)

{Chorus}

Now for ten years we ___________________ (be) on our own

And moss ___________________ (grow) fat on a rollin' stone

But that ___________________ (be) not how it ___________________ (be)

When the jester ___________________ (sing) for the King and Queen

In a coat he ___________________ (borrow) from James Dean

And a voice that ___________________ (come) from you and me

Oh, and while the King ___________________ (look) down

The jester ___________________ (steal) his thorny crown

The courtroom ___________________ (adjourn)

No verdict ___________________ (return)

And while Lenin ___________________ (read) a book of Marx

The quartet ___________________ (practice) in the park

And we ___________________ (sing) dirges in the dark

The day the music ___________________ (die)

We ___________________ (sing)

{Chorus}

Helter Skelter in a summer swelter

The birds ___________________ (fly) off with a fallout shelter

Eight miles high and ___________________ (fall) fast

It ___________________ (land) foul out on the grass

The players ___________________ (try) for a forward pass

With the jester on the sidelines in a cast

Now the half-time air ___________________ (be) sweet perfume

While the Sergeants ___________________ (play) a marching tune

We all ___________________ (get up) ___________________ (dance)

Oh, but we never ___________________ (get) the chance

'Cause the players ___________________ (try) ___________________ (take) the field

The marching band ___________________ (refuse) ___________________ (yield)

___________________ you ___________________ (recall) what ___________________ (reveal)

The day the music ___________________ (die)

We ___________________ (start) ___________________ (sing)

{Chorus}

Oh, and there we ___________________ (be) all in one place

A generation ___________________ (lose) in Space

With no time ___________________ (leave) ___________________ (start) again

So ___________________ (come on), Jack be nimble, Jack be quick

Jack Flash ___________________ (sit) on a candlestick

'Cause fire ___________________ (be) the Devil's only friend

Oh, and as I ___________________ (watch) him on the stage

My hands ___________________ (clench) in fists of rage

No angel ___________________ (bear) in hell

___________________ (break) that Satan's spell

And as the flames ___________________ (climb) high into the night

___________________ (light) the sacrifical rite

I ___________________ (see) Satan ___________________ (laugh) with delight

The day the music ___________________ (die)

He ___________________ (sing)

{Chorus}

I ___________________ (meet) a girl who ___________________ (sing) the blues

And I ___________________ (ask) her for some happy news

But she just ___________________ (smile) and ___________________ (turn away)

I ___________________ (go) down to the sacred store

Where I ___________________ (hear) the music years before

But the man there ___________________ (say) the music ___________________ (play)

And in the streets the children ___________________ (scream)

The lovers ___________________ (cry), and the poets ___________________ (dream)

But not a word ___________________ (speak)

The church bells all ___________________ (break)

And the three men I ___________________ (admire) most

The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost

They ___________________ (catch) the last train for the coast

The day the music ___________________ (die)

And they ___________________ (sing)

{Chorus}

They ___________________ (sing) bye-bye, Miss American Pie

___________________ (Drive)my chevy to the levee

But the levee ___________________ (be) dry

Them good old boys ___________________ (drink) whiskey and rye

___________________ (Sing) this ___________________ (be) the day that I ___________________ (die)