Rock & Roll (I Gave You The Best Years Of My Life)
Composer(s): Kevin Johnson
Performer(s): Mac Davis



I can still remember
When I bought my first guitar
Remember just how good the feeling
To put it proudly in my car
And my fam'ly listened fifty times
To my two song repertoire
I told my mom
Her only son was gonna be a star
Bought all the Beatles records
I sounded just like Paul
I bought all the old Chuck Berry's - 78's and all
I sat by my record player
Playing ev'ry note they played
I watched them all on TV
Making ev'ry 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
To 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 that 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 moon at night
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 met 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 to 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
That I thank the Lord for giving me
The little bit I knew
And I was always just one step behind you