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

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´s 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