Rock & Roll (I Gave You The Best Years Of My Life)

{transcribed by Adri Verhoef, 12-2-2013}

I 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, 78s 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 summernights
I was busy in the backroom writing lovesongs to you
While you were changing your direction and never even knew
That I was always just one step behind you

'66 seems 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 were something more than just another band
And then '69 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, well, 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 lovesongs to you
While you were changing your direction and never even knew
That I was always just one step behind you

da do do do... (etc.)

'71 in Soho when I saw Suzanne
I was trying to go it solo with someone else's band
She came up to me lately, took her by the hand
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
And she followed me when finally I sold my old guitar
And 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 summernights
And though I never knew the magic of makin' it with you
I thank the road for giving me the little bit I knew

Rock and roll I gave you all the best years of my life
All the dreamy sunny Sundays, all the moonlit summernights
I was busy in the backroom writing lovesongs to you
While you were changing your direction and never even knew

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 ...