I got my first real six-string 
Bought it at the five-and-dime 
Played it till 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 and Jody got married 
I shoulda known we'd never get far 
Oh when I look back now 
That summer seemed to last forever
And if I had the choice 
Ya - I'd always wanna be there
Those were the best days of my life 

Ain't no use [bad word] 
When you got a job to do 
Spent my evenin's down at the drive-in
And that's when I met you 

Standin' on your mama'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 

Back in the summer of '69 

Man we were killin' time 
We were young and restless 
We needed to unwind 
I guess nothin' can last forever - forever, no 

And now the times are changin' 
Look at everything [bad word] and gone 
Sometimes when I play that old six-string 
I think about ya wonder what went wrong 

Standin' on your mama's porch 
You told me it would last forever 
Oh the way you held my hand 
I knew that it was now or never 
Those were the best days of my life 

Back in the summer of '69