A 1934 popular song
words and music by Irving Berlin
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
You were always a careless kid
Letting everything fall
No one blamed you for what you did
You were careless, that’s all
Butterfingers was your nickname
Even when you were small
You grew up and you’re still the same
Letting everything fall
Chorus
When we were five, Butterfingers
I gave you my toys, Butterfingers
You let my toys slip
Through your fingers and break
When we were ten, Butterfingers
I gave you my books, Butterfingers
They slipped right through your hand
And fell in the lake
When we were seventeen
You still were careless
But I loved you so
Though I knew that you were careless
I couldn’t let you go
At twenty-one, Butterfingers
I gave you my heart, Butterfingers
You let my heart slip
Through your fingers and break
Sung here by Laurence Rubenstein: