I got my first real six-string

Bought it at the five-and-dime

Played it till my fingers bled

It was the summer of '69

Me and some guys from school

Had a band and we tried real hard

Jimmy quit and Jody got married

I shoulda known we'd never get far

Oh when I look back now

That summer seemed to last forever

And if I had the choice

Ya - I'd always wanna be there

Those were the best days of my life

Ain't no use in complainin'

When you got a job to do

Spent my evenin's down at the drive-in

And that's when I met you

Standin' on your mama's porch

You told me that you'd wait forever

Oh and when you held my hand

I knew that it was now or never

Those were the best days of my life

Back in the summer of '69

Man we were killin' time

We were young and restless

We needed to unwind

I guess nothin' can last forever - forever, no

And now the times are changin'

Look at everything that's come and gone

Sometimes when I play that old six-string

I think about ya wonder what went wrong

Standin' on your mama's porch

You told me it would last forever

Oh the way you held my hand

I knew that it was now or never

Those were the best days of my life

Back in the summer of '69