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, than 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, than 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