I was runnin' through the summer rain tryin' to catch the evenin' train And kill that old familiar pain weavin' through my tangled brain When I tipped my bottle back I smacked into a cop I didn't see
That policeman said, 'Mr. Cool if you ain't drunk then you're a fool' I said, 'If that's against the law tell me why I never saw A man locked in that jail of yours who wasn't just as lowdown poor as me'
Well that was when someone turned out the lights And I wound up in jail to spend the night And dream of all the wine and lonely girls In this best of all possible worlds
Well I woke up next morning feelin' like my head was gone And like my thick old tongue was lickin' somethin' sick and wrong And I told that man I'd sell my soul if somethin' wet and cold is that old cell
That kindly jailer grinned at me all eaten up with sympathy Then bought himself another beer and came and whispered in my ear 'That booze was just a dime a bottle boy you couldn't even buy the smell'
I said, 'I knew there was somethin' I liked about this town But it takes more than that to bring me down, down, down 'Cause there's still a lot of wine and lonely girls In this best of all possible worlds'
Well they finally came and told me they was a gonna set me free And I'd be leavin' town if I knew what was good for me I said, 'It's nice to learn that everybody's so concerned about my health'
I said, 'I won't be leavin' no more quicker than I can 'Cause I've enjoyed about this much of this as I can stand And I don't need this town of yours more Than I've never needed nothing else'
'Cause there's still a lotta drinks that I ain't drunk Lots of pretty thoughts that I ain't thought oh yeah Lord there's still so many lonely girls In this best of all possible worlds