[Verse 1]
New Mexico's lost on the back streets of Austin
Carolina keeps all her thoughts to herself
Tennessee's tight and he will not stop talking
Somebody shush him 'fore I have to myself

[Verse 2]
Wrote that verse for the kids but I never did sing it
I filed it away and forgot it in time
My old guitar sits in the back bedroom closet
Next to the shotgun I got when I was nine

[Verse 3]
And if I had any sense I'd be way 'cross the Whitestone
I might as well as sit here a while 'fore I start
'Cause when the 5:30 rush hits the Cross Island Parkway
It's not for the squeamish or the gentle of heart

[Verse 4]
I'd be stuck on the bridge in the right lane at sunset
Watchin' the boats with their snowy white sails
Watchin' the sun sinkin' over the projects
Laundry hung out off the balcony rails

[Verse 5]
And where are you now, my long secret love?
Where have you gone in your glamorous life?
Where are you now as the moon comes a-risin'?
Are you somebody's love? Are you somebody's wife?
[Chorus]
These are the best days, these are the best days
Y'all put your money away, I got the round
Here's to all you strangers, the Mets and the Rangers
Long may we thrive on the Long Island Sound

[Verse 6]
I don't know what goes on in those crumblin' brick buildings
They're on the same planet in a whole 'nother world
I've got a bay boat and a 401-K
Two cars in the driveway, two boys and a girl

[Verse 7]
It doesn't seem like that long since we came up from Tulsa
Been here six years and I reckon we'll stay
The comp'ny's not bad as companies go
They've still got the health plan and they're raisin' my pay

[Verse 8]
And the kids all play soccer like nobody's business
My grandmother says we're just lettin' 'em fall through
They don't go to church and we're not gonna make 'em
They all drop their "r"s like the islanders do

[Chorus]
These are the best days, these are the best days
Boys put your money away, I got the round
Here's to all you strangers, the Mets and the Rangers
Long may we thrive on the Long Island Sound
[Verse 9]
I remember her singin' from that dusty old hymnal
Smelled like tobacco from Grandaddy's pipe
That old rugged cross 'til she shook down the shingles
You never heard such a noise in your life

[Verse 10]
I had a tire run low so I dug through the glove box
I needed the manual to locate the jack
Found a couple old picks and a twenty-gauge shot-shell
Left from a dove hunt a couple years back

[Chorus]
These are the best days, these are the best days
Y'all put your money away, I got the round
Here's to all you strangers, the Mets and the Rangers
Long may we thrive on the Long Island Sound
Long may we thrive on the Long Island Sound

[Outro]
New Mexico's lost on the back streets of Austin
Carolina keeps all her thoughts to herself