Aberdeen - Best of All

Some folks will say that they prefer away back east to dwell,
 But I know of a place out west that suits me pretty well. 
They brag about Ohio and about the state of Maine,
And the yarns they sometimes tell give a truthful man a pain. 

Some folks call Indiana the greatest place on earth
Because, perhaps, by accident, that's where they had their birth. 
All them as wants can stay at home in Maine or Tennessee 
But Aberdeen and Idaho are good enough for me.

It may be I'm old fashioned, but I've been around a bit 
In this enlightened country, and I've seen most all of it. 
I've seen the sights in old New York and stood on Bunker Hill 
And stayed in classic Boston town until I had a chill.

I've met most all the bunco men who in Chicago dwell. 
And bought gold bricks in Omaha and St. Louis as well 
I've lingered for a week or two in Portland, 'way out west. 
But Aberdeen and Idaho, they surely suit me best.

I've loafed around the capitol in Washington D.C. 
I've slept in Philadelphia and dined in Kankakee; 
I've been in Salt Lake City and in Pocatello' too 
And during one whole summer I lived in Kalamazoo.

I've seen the swamps in Florida, the waves at Sandy Hook
The millionaires of Pittsburgh and the good wives that they shook 
I've been to Cincinnati and while there crossed the Rhine
But after all I've seen, I guess it's Aberdeen for mine. 

I never had a hankerin' to stop and settle down. 
Until the day, not long ago, I heard about this town.
I came and looked it over and made up my mind to stay 
So I unpacked my carpet bag and here I am today.

I like the climate and the soil, I like the people, too;
I like the sagebrush desert and I like the mountain view
Of all the towns I've ever seen, the one that suits me best
 Is the little town of Aberdeen, in Idaho, out west.

By Jap Toner
First publisher of the Aberdeen Times.