I was runnin' thru the summer rain,
waiting for the evenin' train
to kill that old familiar pain

weavin' thru my tangled brain
when I tipped my bottle back and
smacked into a cop I didn't see

That policeman said "Mister Cool,
if you ain't drunk, then you're a fool"
I said "If that's against the law,

then tell me why I never saw
no man locked in this jail of yours
who wasn't just as low down poor as me?"

And that was when someone turned out the lights
Yes and I wound up in jail to spend the night
and dream of all the wine and lonely girls

in this best of all possible worlds

Next mornin' I woke up feelin' like my head was really gone

And like my thick old tongue was lickin' something sick and wrong
I said "I'd sell my soul for something about as wet and cold as this old cell"
That kindly jailer looked at me, all eaten up with sympathy

Then poured himself another beer and came and whispered in my ear
"If booze was just a dime a bottle boy, you couldn't even buy the smell"
I said "I knew there was something I liked about this town"

Oh but it takes more than that to bring me down
'cause there's still a lot of wine and lonely girls
in this best of all possible worlds


Well they finally came and told me they was a gonna set me free
And I'd be leavin' town if I knew what was good for me

I said "It's nice to learn that everybody's so concerned about my health"
But I won't be leavin' no more quicker than I can
'Cause I've enjoyed about as much of this as I can stand

And I don't need this town of yours no more than I never needed nothin' else"
'Cause there's still a lot of drinks that I ain't drunk
Yes and lots of pretty thoughts that I ain't thunk

Oh yes there's still a lot of wine and lonely girls
in this best of all possible worlds
in this best of all possible worlds

in this best of all possible worlds.