I got my first game system.
Bought it at the five-and-dime.
Played it 'til my fingers bled.
It was the summer of '89.

Me and some guys from school...
Played Pac-Man and we tried real hard.
Jimmy quit and Brodie got a girlfriend.
I should've known we'd never get far.

Oh, when I look back now...
Beatin' Zaxxon used to take forever.
But if I had the choice...
Yeah, I'd always play Defender.
Those were the best days of my life.

Ain't no use in complaining...
When you lose a life or two.
Spent my evenings down at the arcade...
And that's when I found you.
Sittin' at the 2nd floor.
It hurt when you told me "Game Over."
But when I put a coin in...
I knew that it was now or never.
Those were the best days of my life.
Oh, yeah, back in the summer of '89! Oh!\

Man we were killin' time.
We were playin Tetris and Mario all night.
I guess nothin' can last forever - forever, no! Yeah!

And now the times are changin'.
Look at everything that's come and gone.
Sometimes when I play that old system...
I think about and wonder what went wrong.

Sittin' at the 2nd floor.
It hurt when you told me "Game Over."
Oh, when I put a coin in...
I knew that it was now or never.
Those were the best days of my life.
Oh, yeah, back in the summer of '89!
Oh! It was the summer of '89!