Joseph's Dream

Joseph's Dream

Chords you’ll need to know

A B C#m E G#7
Jam-Along Backing Track

Chord Chart

Lyrics

He caressed her breast she hie-di-died his thigh And the pill lit on the pillow amongst the wine bottles and the cheese Took a Polaroid picture that was naughty and it slipped, yes it did And just when I thought it couldn’t get no better, then it did
Just when you think it can’t get no better then it does It’s always so much better than it ever was Seems like all the good things come at once, yes they do And just when you think it can’t get no better then it does
Well they knew what they liked they were neither one of them naive She said I’ll probably get in trouble but this time I don't care Well I should go to work but I’d rather be with you instead And just when I thought it couldn’t get no better then it did She taught school and he played the five string banjo She lived here in town and he traveled the whole world wide Well she packed the lunch brought the wine, he drove the car and scored a lid And just when I thought it couldn’t get no better then it did It was a perfect day for a dalliance and a picnic And a riverbank was an excellent place to love Well the sun was a shining and the birds were singing overhead And just when I thought it couldn’t get no better then it did

About This Song

Joseph's Dream (Get No Better) is a John Hartford original, and its two-part title comes from a mix-up. Hartford's 1976 Flying Fish LP Nobody Knows What You Do had a track called "Joseph's Dream." When the album was reissued on CD, that slot held a different Hartford song, "Get No Better," though it was still labeled "Joseph's Dream." No one has ever explained the swap. Most players found the song on that CD or the digital release, so the wrong name stuck. The real "Joseph's Dream" is a different song.

Hartford released "Get No Better" under its own name on Glitter-Grass from the Nashwood Hollyville Strings (Flying Fish, 1977), his album with Doug and Rodney Dillard as Dillard Hartford Dillard. The version on the Nobody Knows What You Do CD is a different recording. Later bands like Leftover Salmon and Billy Strings have played it live, often calling it "Joseph's Dream."

The one surprise in the chart is the 3⁷ in the second bar, a chord from outside the key of E that pulls you into the 6 minor.

Demo Videos

Billy Strings / Leftover Salmon : Get No Better (Baltimore 2025 11/01)

Billy Strings / Leftover Salmon : Get No Better (Baltimore 2025 11/01)

Chill McGill
Greensky Bluegrass -- "Get No Better"

Greensky Bluegrass -- "Get No Better"

VictorianRose7