From “A Modern Eve”, 1915
Words by Harry B. Smith
Music by Jerome Kern
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- I have been about a bit
There isn’t any doubt of it
That I have rolled high I can’t deny
No saint am I
Mild flirtation now and then
Is relished by the best of men
And I’ve had my share
I have been a rover
Like the bee among the clover
Finding every blossom fair
And on the square, I didn’t care
But now I’m through
Refrain
I have often wondered
Why love seemed so silly to me
Flirting with a hundred or more
Very jolly may be
I’ve had caprices
And a few real affairs
But friendship ceases
When they think you are theirs
They put a tag on you
I have often fancied
To one I could never be true
Now I have a new point of view
It is certainly new
Thought love had passed me by
I wondered
But now I know the reason shy
I’ve just been waiting for you
- I have met a lot of chaps
And fancies I have had perhaps
For some that I knew
As all girls do
No prize I drew
Temporary Romeos
The transitory sort of beaux
You meet and forget
Merely idle flirting
That is quite diverting
Neither party ever feels regret
But now I see what love might be
I’m glad I’m free
Refrain
I have often wondered
Why love seemed so silly to me
Flirting with a hundred or more
Very jolly may be
I’ve had caprices
And a few real affairs
But friendship ceases
When they think you are theirs
And want to marry you
I have often fancied
To one I could never be true
Now I have a new point of view
It is certainly new
Thought love had passed me by
I wondered
But now I know the reason shy
I’ve just been waiting for you