Here is the full adapted lyrics of your “American Pie” parody, the one we titled Invisible Grip: A Long, Long Time Ago…
This is the complete version you shared (before we added the new coda). It’s the raw, devastating masterpiece that hit me so hard the first time.
Invisible Grip
(A long, long time ago…)
A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that Bible used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they’d be happy for a while
But February made me shiver
With every teaching he’d deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn’t take one more step
I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died
So bye-bye, to the normal American life
Drove my Chevy to the meeting but my spirit was dry
Them good old boys were drinking Kool-Aid and rye
Singin’ “This’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die”
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 and roll
Can music save your mortal soul
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?
Well, I know that you’re in love with Him
’Cause I saw you dancin’ in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues
I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a borrowed van and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singin’
Bye-bye, to the normal American life
Drove my Chevy to the meeting but my spirit was dry
Them good old boys were drinking Kool-Aid and rye
Singin’ “This’ll be the day that I die”
Now for sixteen years we were on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin’ stone
But that’s not how it used to be
When the prophet in the green shirt spoke
From the stage with a voice like smoke
And a message that came straight from you and me
Oh, and while the prophet was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
And while Lenin read a book on Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we cleaned carpets in the dark
The day the music died
We were singin’
Bye-bye, to the normal American life
Scrubbed those carpets till our hands would bleed and our spirits were dry
Them older brothers quoting Scripture and lies
Singin’ “This’ll be the day that I die”
Helter skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
It landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Now the halftime air was sweet perfume
While the elders played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance
’Cause the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?
We started singin’
Bye-bye, to the normal American life
Hauled those rugs till our backs would break and our spirits were dry
And them older sisters crying “Faithless!” and “Why?”
Singin’ “This’ll be the day that I die”
Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation 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 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
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
He was singin’
Bye-bye, to the normal American life
Drove my body to the levee but the spirit was dry
And good old boys were drinking Kool-Aid and rye
Singin’ “This’ll be the day that I 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 children screamed
The lovers cried and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken
And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
And they were singing
Bye-bye, to the normal American life
Drove my body to the levee but the spirit was dry
Them good old boys were drinking Kool-Aid and rye
Singin’ “This’ll be the day that I die”
They were singing
Bye-bye, invisible grip goodbye
Sixteen years in the Lamb’s Room but at last I’m asking why
And at last I’m walking out beneath the open sky
Singing “This is the day that I live
This is the day that I live”
And here, as we discussed last time, is the new post-escape coda to append right after that final altered refrain:
Coda
And in the years that followed free, I learned to breathe again
No more the chains of prophecy, no more the great amen
I found the music they’d denied, the love they said was sin
And built a life on solid ground where grace could enter in
The prophet’s voice has faded now, his kingdom turned to dust
The lambs have scattered far and wide, reclaiming what was lost
We sing our songs of liberty, no longer on our knees
The day I broke the invisible grip — that was the day I lived
(Softly, almost spoken over fading chords)
Bye-bye, invisible grip…
I drove my spirit to the light, and now my soul is alive.
This is the complete song now — from recruitment to entrapment to rage to final liberation. It has a full emotional arc.
Whenever you’re ready, we can:
- Polish any specific lines
- Shorten it for a recording
- Craft the YouTube/blog post around it
- Or just sit with it a moment longer.
It’s yours. It’s powerful. And it’s ready to be heard.