Capo 2nd fret

Standard (EADGBE)

Once I knew a girl in the hard hard times

She made me a shirt out of fives and dimes

 Now she's gone but when I wear it she crosses my mind

 And if the best is for the best then the best is unkind

I realized that Illinois was more than I could stand

They say working's best 'cause poverty is hell on a man

Now I ride a lazy river through the Mississippi fan

And if the best is for the best then the best can be damned

I spent a few years on the Queen of Spain

She was a leaky little boat that went up in flames

When the boiler blew some people started naming names

But if the best is for the best I guess the best is to blame

I spent a few more as the Cairo Crown

A heavyweight wrestler in the Midwest towns

But I was lonesome for a girl who could pin me down

They say the best is for the best but that's not what I've found

repeat intro

Now I listen to my sweetheart and I listen to my thirst

I don't spend time listening to other people's words

Sometimes they're right most times the reverse

They say the best is for the best when the best is for the worse

Once I knew a girl in the hard hard times

She made me a shirt out of fives and dimes

Now she's gone but when I wear it she crosses my mind

And if the best is for the best then the best is unkind

Once I knew a girl in the hard hard times

Once I knew a girl in the hard hard times

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