I got my first real six-string
Bought it at the five-and-dime

Played it til my fingers bled
It was the summer of sixty-nine

Me and some guys from school
Had a band and we tried real hard

Jimmy quit and Jody got married
I shoulda know 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 just wanna be there
Those were the best days of my life

Ain't no use in complainin'
When you got a job to do

Spent my evenin's down at the drive-in
And that's when I met you - yeah

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

Oh, back in the summer of sixty-nine

Man we were killin' time
We were young and restless, we needed to unwind
I guess nothing can last forever, forever

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 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 sixty-nine
Back in the summer of sixty-nine
Oh, back in the summer of sixty-nine