CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE AND HEAR THIS SONG PERFORMED, OR THE JUKEBOX FOR THE ENTIRE LIBRARY.

 

by The Eagles
Key of G

J.D. Souther, who was a good friend of Glenn Frey, helped write this song along with Frey and Don Henley (who sang lead). Other Eagles songs Souther contributed to include “Heartache Tonight,” “New Kid In Town,” “Victim Of Love” and “James Dean.”

This song is often played at weddings and anywhere else one wants to demonstrate affection, but it’s really a breakup song: “You see it your way, and I see it mine, and we both see it slipping away.” No happy ending here, just a guy who gave it his best, but things didn’t work out.

According to Don Henley, he, Souther and Frey wrote some of the lyrics over libations at the Los Angeles restaurant Dan Tana’s where they were regulars. There, they studied women and relationships. Henley says they were “typical, frustrated, young men” at the time.

The phrase “Best Of My Love” conveys a powerful sentiment, and the title was used in 1977 for a disco song by The Emotions that also hit #1 in the US, marking the first time that two different songs with the same title hit the top spot.

On The Border came out in April 1974, but this song was not released as a single until November and didn’t hit the top spot until late September. This helped keep the Eagles on the airwaves while they prepared their next album, One Of These Nights, which came out in June 1975.


[G] Every night, I'm lying in bed, [Am] holdin' you close in my dreams.
[G] Thinkin' about all the things that we said        And [Am] comin' apart at the seams.   [Bm] We try to talk it [Am] over, but the [Bm] words come out too [C] wrong.   I [G] know you were tryin' to [Am] give me the best of your [G] love [D7]

[G] Beautiful faces . . . Loud empty places. [Am] Look at the way that we live.   [G] Wastin' our time on cheap talk and wine.  [Am] Left us so little to give.    The [Bm] same old crowd was like a [Am] cold dark cloud, that [Bm] we could never rise [C] above.   But [G] here in my heart, I [Am] give you the best of my [G] love.  [D7] 

[CHORUS] - - - - - [G] Oh, sweet darlin' - - [Am] You get the best of my love.   [GMAJ7] Oh, sweet darlin' - - [Am] You get the best of my love.   I'm goin' [Cm6] back in time, and it's a [G] sweet dream.  It was a [Cm7] quiet night, and I would be alright If I could [Am] go on [D7] sleeping  

But [G] every morning'  I wake up and worry:     [Am] What's gonna happen today.   [G] You see it your way, and I see it mine, but we [Am] both see it slippin' away  [Bm] You know, we always loved each [Am] other, baby.   [Bm] I guess that wasn't [Am] enough  [D7]    Oh oh, but [G] here in my heart, I [Am] give you the best of my [G] love  [D]

[CHORUS] - - - - -       [G] Ohhhhh
Print Friendly, PDF & Email