When the idle poor
become the idle rich,
You'll never know just who is who
or who is which.
Won't it be rich
when everyone's poor relative
Becomes a Rockefeller -tive
and times no longer itch?
What a switch!
When we all have ermine
an d plastic teeth,
How will we determine who's
who underneath?
And when all your neighbors
are upper class,
You won't know your Georges
from your As tor s.
Let's toast the day,
The day we drink that drinky up
But with the little pinky up
The day on which
The idle poor become the
idle rich
When a rich man doesn't want to work
He's a bon vivant, yes, he's a bon vivant
But when a poor man doesn't want to work
He's a loafer, he's a lounger,
he's a lazy good -for -nothin',
he's a jerk.
When a rich man loses on a horse,
isn't he the sport, ho -ho,
isn't he the sport?
But when a poor man loses on a horse,
he's a gambler, he's a spender,
he's a lowlife,
he's a raisin for divorce.
When a rich man chases after dames,
he's a man about town,
oh yes, a man about town.
But when a poor man chases after dames,
he's a bounder, he's a rounder,
he's a rotter,
and a lot of dirty names.
the idle poor become
the idle rich
You'll never know just who is who
or who is which
No one will see the Irish
or the Slav in you
For when you're on Park Avenue,
Cornelius and Mike Look -a
-like.
When poor Tweedledum is
rich Tweedledee,
This discrimination will no longer be.
When we're in the dough
and off of the nut,
You won't know your banker
from your butler.
Come on, Finian!
Come on, Finian!
Yay, Finian!