[Verse 1]
I got my first real six-string
I bought it at the five and dime
I played it 'til 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, Jody got married
I shoulda known we'd never get far

[Chorus]
But when I look back now
The summer seemed to last forever
Oh, and if I had the choice
Yeah, I'd always wanna be there
Those were the best days of my life

[Verse 2]
Ain't no use in complainin'
When you got a job to do
Spent my evening's down at the drive-in
And that's when I met you, yeah

[Chorus]
Standin' on your mother'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
[Bridge]
Man, we were killin' time
We were young and restless
We needed to unwind
I guess nothin' will last forever
Forever, no

[Verse 3]
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 you and what went wrong

[Chorus]
Standin' on your mother's porch
You told me that it'd last forever
Oh, and when you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life