can still remember, when I bought my first guitar,
Remember just how good the feeling was, put it proudly in my car,
And my family listened fifty times, to my two song repertoire,
And I told my mom, her only son, was gonna be a star.
Bought all the Beatles records, sounded just like Paul,
Bought all the old Chuck Berry's, 78's and all,
And I sat by my record player, playing every note they played,
And I watched them all on TV, making every move they made.
Rock and roll, I gave you all the best years of my life,
All the dreamy sunny sundays, all the moonlit summer nights,
I was so busy in the backroom, writing love songs to you,
While you were changing your direction, and you never even knew,
That I was always, just one step behind you.
Sixty-six seemed like the year I was really going somewhere,
We were living in San Francisco, with flowers in our hair,
Singing songs of kindness, so the world would understand,
That the guys and me you were something more than just another band,
And then sixty-nine in L. A, came around so soon,
We were really making headway, and writing lots of tunes,
And we must have played the wildest stuff, we had ever played,
And the way the crowds cried out for us, we thought we had it made.
Rock and roll, I gave you all the best years of my life,
All the crazy, lazy, young days, all the magic moonlit nights,
I was so busy on the road, singing love songs to you,
While you were changing your direction, and you never even knew,
That I was always, just one step behind you.
Seventy-one and so alone, when I saw Susanne,
I was trying to go it solo, with someone else's band,
She came up to me later, and I took her by the hand,
And I told her all my troubles, and she seemed to understand,
And she followed me through London, through a hundred hotel rooms,
Through a hundred record companies, who didn't like my tunes,
She followed me when finally, I sold my old guitar,
She tried to help me understand, I'd never be, a star.
Rock and roll I gave you all the best years of my life,
All the dreamy sunny sundays, all the moonlit summer nights,
And though I never knew the magic, of making it with you,
I thank the Lord for giving me the little bit I knew,
And I will always be one step behind you.
Rock and roll I gave you all the best years of my life,
Singin' out my love songs, under brightly flashing lights,
And though I never knew the magic, of making it with you,
I thank the Lord for giving me the little that I knew,
Ohh Rock and roll I gave you all the best years of my life,
All the dreamy sunny sundays, all the moonlit summer nights,
I was so busy in the backroom, writing love songs to you,
While you were changing your direction, and you never even knew,
[Fade....]
Ohh Rock and roll I gave you all the best years of my life,
All the dreamy sunny sundays, all the moonlit summer nights,
And though I never knew the magic, of making it with you,
I thank the Lord for giving me the little bit I knew
Remember just how good the feeling was, put it proudly in my car,
And my family listened fifty times, to my two song repertoire,
And I told my mom, her only son, was gonna be a star.
Bought all the Beatles records, sounded just like Paul,
Bought all the old Chuck Berry's, 78's and all,
And I sat by my record player, playing every note they played,
And I watched them all on TV, making every move they made.
Rock and roll, I gave you all the best years of my life,
All the dreamy sunny sundays, all the moonlit summer nights,
I was so busy in the backroom, writing love songs to you,
While you were changing your direction, and you never even knew,
That I was always, just one step behind you.
Sixty-six seemed like the year I was really going somewhere,
We were living in San Francisco, with flowers in our hair,
Singing songs of kindness, so the world would understand,
That the guys and me you were something more than just another band,
And then sixty-nine in L. A, came around so soon,
We were really making headway, and writing lots of tunes,
And we must have played the wildest stuff, we had ever played,
And the way the crowds cried out for us, we thought we had it made.
Rock and roll, I gave you all the best years of my life,
All the crazy, lazy, young days, all the magic moonlit nights,
I was so busy on the road, singing love songs to you,
While you were changing your direction, and you never even knew,
That I was always, just one step behind you.
Seventy-one and so alone, when I saw Susanne,
I was trying to go it solo, with someone else's band,
She came up to me later, and I took her by the hand,
And I told her all my troubles, and she seemed to understand,
And she followed me through London, through a hundred hotel rooms,
Through a hundred record companies, who didn't like my tunes,
She followed me when finally, I sold my old guitar,
She tried to help me understand, I'd never be, a star.
Rock and roll I gave you all the best years of my life,
All the dreamy sunny sundays, all the moonlit summer nights,
And though I never knew the magic, of making it with you,
I thank the Lord for giving me the little bit I knew,
And I will always be one step behind you.
Rock and roll I gave you all the best years of my life,
Singin' out my love songs, under brightly flashing lights,
And though I never knew the magic, of making it with you,
I thank the Lord for giving me the little that I knew,
Ohh Rock and roll I gave you all the best years of my life,
All the dreamy sunny sundays, all the moonlit summer nights,
I was so busy in the backroom, writing love songs to you,
While you were changing your direction, and you never even knew,
[Fade....]
Ohh Rock and roll I gave you all the best years of my life,
All the dreamy sunny sundays, all the moonlit summer nights,
And though I never knew the magic, of making it with you,
I thank the Lord for giving me the little bit I knew