The Smith Street Band
The Best Friend I Ever Had
It was one of those days when everything was kind of damp
Spent my afternoon being chaperoned from middle man to middle man
When all you get's a fool's gold flash in the pan
And the line you paid forty bucks for tastes of bleach and stale contraband
And the girl I loved now more than I ever had
Woke up coming down in the arms of a real man
Surrounded by the overpowering odour of shared house, bleach and a lack of contraband
So I tried to understand
But I was dying for a cigarette like I didn't know they'd kill me
Listening to records in your bedroom named after great American cities
And we got busted in the suburbs by the short and overpowering blonde girl
And your mum's boyfriend called me trash
But that's okay cause you don't call him dad
You just call him when you want some cash
Or to make somebody feel bad
But you were still the best that I ever had
On the V-Line bus back to the motherland
From our own slice of paradise on the water and sand
Fucking on the beach while the sun rose
And the cold salt water washed dried blood from my nose
And we hassled kids so much to come to our shows
But most of them said, "Look, son, we never really wanted to go." They said, "Singer-songwriters bore the hell out of me."
And I said, "I'm not a singer-songwriter and I never fucking will be."
But I was dying for a cigarette like I didn't know they'd kill me
Listening to records in your bedroom named after great American cities
And we got busted in the suburbs by the short and overpowering blonde girl
And your mum's boyfriend called me trash
But that's okay cause you don't call him dad
You just call him when you want some cash
Or to make somebody feel bad
But you were still the best that I ever had
And it took eighteen months, two houses, three life partners, a dog, a needle and a stolen guitar and countless IOUs for me to say, "I'm sorry, I'm just really far away."
But I was dying for a cigarette like I didn't know they'd kill me
Listening to records in your bedroom named after great American cities
And we got busted in the suburbs by the short and overpowering blonde girl
And your mum's boyfriend called me trash
But that's okay cause you don't call him dad
You just call him when you want some cash
Or to make somebody feel bad
But you were still the best that I ever had