From the 1960 Broadway Production “Bye Bye Birdie”.
Words by Lee Adams.
Music by Charles Strouse.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- Kids! I don’t know what’s wrong
With these kids today
Kids! Who can understand
Anything they say?
Kids! They are disobedient
Disrespectful oafs
Noisy, crazy, sloppy, lazy loafers
While we’re on the subject
Kids! You can talk and talk
Till you face is blue
Kids! But they still do
Just what they want to do
What can’t they be like we were
Perfect in every way
What’s the matter with kids today? - Kids! I don’t know what’s wrong
With these kids today
Kids! Who can understand
Anything they say?
Kids! They are disobedient
Disrespectful oafs
Noisy, crazy, sloppy, lazy loafers
Why are they so dreadful
Kids! They are just impossible to control
Kids! with their awful clothes
And their rock and roll
What can’t they be like we were
Perfect in every way
What’s the matter with kids today? - Kids! I don’t know what’s wrong
With these kids today
Kids! Even I don’t understand what they say
Kids! They are so ridiculous and so immature
I don’t see why anybody wants ’em
Why are they so dreadful?
Kids! What the devil’s wrong
With these kids today
Kids! Who could guess
That they would turn out that way
What can’t they be like we were
Perfect in every way
What’s the matter with kids today?
Sung here by Laurence Rubenstein: