Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

Rodgers & HammersteinPal Joey

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Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

Lyrics By Lorenz Hart  Music By Richard Rodgers

Caught up in her new relationship with Joey, Vera is astonished by her own feelings.

Introduced by Vivienne Segal in the original 1940 Broadway production of Pal Joey, “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” (often shortened to “Bewitched”) remains one of Rodgers & Hart’s most enduring songs. Sophisticated, rueful and a bit naughty, “Bewitched” presents a vivid portrait of a seasoned adult confounded by the turbulence of new love. Lorenz Hart wrote so many lyrics for the song and its reprises that seemingly no two recordings use exactly the same words.

In June of 1950, six different recordings of “Bewitched” made the Top 20 list of most-played records on the radio. These recordings were by Doris Day, Mel Tormé and the Pete Rugolo Orchestra, Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra, Jan August and Jerry Murad’s Harmonicats, Bill Snyder, Roy Ross and His Orchestra, and Larry Green. In addition, Billboard reported that “Bewitched” was the best-selling sheet music for the week ending May 26, 1950. The song has since been covered by a host of singers, including Celine Dion, Frank Sinatra, Sinead O’Connor, Barbra Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald and Lady Gaga; Rod Stewart and Cher released a duet version in 2003.

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“Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” LYRICS

(Show version)

After one whole quart of brandy,
Like a daisy, I awake.
With no Bromo-Seltzer handy,
I don’t even shake.

Men are not a new sensation,
I’ve done pretty well, I think:
But this half-pint imitation
Puts me on the blink.

I’m wild again!
Beguiled again!
A simpering, whimpering child again!
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I.

Couldn’t sleep
And wouldn’t sleep
Until I could sleep where I shouldn’t sleep.
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I!

Lost my heart, but what of it?
My mistake, I agree.
He’s a laugh, but I love it
Because the laugh’s on me.

A pill he is,
But still he is
All mine and I’ll keep him until he is
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered like me!

Seen a lot;
I mean a lot –
But now I’m like sweet seventeen a lot.
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I.

I’ll sing to him –
Each spring to him,
And worship the trousers that cling to him.
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I.

When he talks, he is seeking
Words to get off his chest.
Horizontally speaking,
He’s at his very best.

Vexed again,
Perplexed again,
Thank God I can be oversexed again.
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I.

Sweet again,
Petite again,
And on my proverbial seat again.
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I.

What am I?
Half shot am I.
To think that he loves me,
So hot am I.
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I.

Thought at first, we said, “No, sir,”
Now we’re two little dears.
You might say we are closer
Thank Roebuck is to Sears.

I’m dumb again
And numb again,
A rich, ready, ripe little plum again.
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I.

You know,
It is really quite funny
Just how quickly he learns
How to spend all the money
That Mr. Simpson earns.

He’s kept enough.
He’s slept enough,
And yet, where it counts, he’s adept enough.
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I.