When You Want ’Em, You Can’t Get ’Em (When You’ve Got ’Em, You Don’t Want ’Em)
When You Want ’Em, You Can’t Get ’Em (When You’ve Got ’Em, You Don’t Want ’Em) Lyrics
(Verse)
A little loving now and then
Is relished by the best of men
That's a proverb old and true
Still somehow it's always new
A fellow wants a girlie, bad
But there's none to be had
No matter how you try, you cannot reason why
Things always turn out like this:
(Chorus)
When you want 'em
You can't get 'em
When you've got 'em
You don't want 'em
All the wise men try to dope it out
But it seems they're always left in doubt
When you get 'em
Then you pet 'em
When you lose 'em
You forget 'em
At certain times you have too many
At other times you haven't any
When you want 'em
You can't get 'em
When you've got 'em
You don't want 'em
You're never satisfied at all
A little loving now and then
Is relished by the best of men
That's a proverb old and true
Still somehow it's always new
A fellow wants a girlie, bad
But there's none to be had
No matter how you try, you cannot reason why
Things always turn out like this:
(Chorus)
When you want 'em
You can't get 'em
When you've got 'em
You don't want 'em
All the wise men try to dope it out
But it seems they're always left in doubt
When you get 'em
Then you pet 'em
When you lose 'em
You forget 'em
At certain times you have too many
At other times you haven't any
When you want 'em
You can't get 'em
When you've got 'em
You don't want 'em
You're never satisfied at all
About
Genius Annotation
This was Gershwin’s first published song, written when he was still a teenager. The lyrics are not by his brother but by Murray Roth.
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