Why Was I Born?

 

Lyrics by:  Oscar Hammerstein II

Music by:  Jerome Kern

Arranged by:  Axel Stordahl

From the Show:  Sweet Adeline  (1929)

Label:  Columbia Records

Recorded:  December 28, 1947

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Why was I born, why am I livin'?

What do I get, what am I givin'?

Why do I want a thing I daren't hope for?

What can I hope for? I wish I knew

 

Why do I try to draw you near me?

Why do I do I cry? You never hear me

I'm a poor fool, but what can I do?

Why was I born to love you?

 

<instrumental-first two lines of second verse>

 

I'm a poor fool, but what can I do?

Why was I born to love you?

 

Some other versions may include an intro:

Spending these lonesome evenings with nothing to do

But to live in dreams that I make up all by myself

Dreaming that you're beside me, I picture the prettiest stories

Only to wake up all by myself What is the good of me by myself?