Best for the Best Lyrics

Lyric discussion by wdr1907 

Cover art for Best for the Best lyrics by Josh Ritter

One of my favorite cuts from Josh.

I wouldn't downplay the possible political message. He did open the song on the live album with a Mark Twain quote that is highly political and I believe that it fits well. Josh was highly critical of the Bush administration and I think this is a potential stab at it i.e. "if the best is for the best then the best is unkind". A relationship going awry is correct or rather somebody hurting the narrator, in the case of this song it can be both the government or an old partner.