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