Lyrics

Poor little rich girl,
You’re a bewitched girl,
Better take care.
Laughing at danger,
Virtue a stranger,
Better beware!
The life you lead sets all your nerves a-jangle,
You love affairs are in a hopeless tangle,
Though you’re a child, dear,
Your life’s a wild typhoon!

In lives of leisure,
The craze for pleasure
Steadily grows;
Cocktails and laughter,
But what comes after?
Nobody knows!
You’re weaving love into a mad jazz pattern,
Ruled by Pantaloon,
Poor little rich girl,
Don’t drop a stitch too soon!

You’re only a baby,
You’re lonely, and maybe
Someday soon you’ll know
The tears you are tasting
Are years you are wasting,
Life’s a bitter foe!
With fate it’s no use competing,
Youth is so terribly fleeting;
By dancing much faster
You’re chancing disaster,
Time alone will show.

Session / Album Information

1959

Poor Little Rich Girl was recorded on January 5, 1959 and was released in 1959 on Basie/Bennett. The song was arranged by Ralph Sharon.