Intro
D 
  
Verse 1
D 
   I got my first real six-string 
A 
   Bought it at the five-and-dime 
D 
   Played it 'til my fingers bled 
A 
   It was the summer of '69 
  
Verse 2
D 
   Me and some guys from school 
A 
   Had a band and we tried real hard 
D 
   Jimmy quit, Jody got married 
A 
   I shoulda known we'd never get far 
  
Chorus 1
Bm             A 
    Oh, when I look back now 
D                         G 
    That summer seemed to last forever 
Bm           A 
    And if I had the choice 
D                    G 
    Yeah, I'd always wanna be there 
Bm                 A               D 
    Those were the best days of my life 
  
Instrumental
(D)   A 
  
Verse 3
D 
    Ain't no use in complainin' 
A 
    When you got a job to do 
D 
    Spent my evenin's down at the drive in 
A 
    And that's when I met you, yeah 
  
Chorus 2
Bm                   A 
    Standin' on your mama's porch 
D                          G 
    You told me that you'd wait forever 
Bm                   A 
    Oh, and when you held my hand 
D                      G 
    I knew that it was now or never 
Bm                 A               D    A 
    Those were the best days of my life 
  
Bridge
F               Bb 
   Man, we were (k i l l i n g) time 
        C 
We were young and restless 
   Bb/D 
We needed to unwind 
F          Bb                  C 
   I guess nothin' can last forever, forever no 
  
Instrumental
D    A    x2 
  
Verse 4
D 
   And now the times are changin' 
A 
   Look at everything that's come and gone 
D 
   Sometimes when I play that old six-string 
A 
   I think about you, wonder what went wrong 
  
Chorus 3
Bm                   A 
    Standin' on your mama's porch 
D                         G 
    You told me that it'd last forever 
Bm                   A 
    Oh, and when you held my hand 
D                      G 
    I knew that it was now or never 
Bm                 A               D 
    Those were the best days of my life