After You Get What You Want (You Don’t Want It)

Here is the original 1920s song that was re-recorded for Boardwalk Empire’s Season Two debut. This is being sung by two men, Van and Schenk, so the knee line is “though you sit upon my knee.”

Listen to me, honey dear
Something’s wrong with you I fear
It’s getting harder to please you
Harder and harder every year
I don’t want to make you blue
But you need a talking to
Like a lot of people I know
Here’s what’s wrong with you —

Don’t you say that I’m unkind
Think it over and you’ll find
You’ve got a changeable nature
You’re always changing your mind
There’s a longing in your eye
That is hard to satisfy
You’re unhappy most of the time
Here’s the reason why

Now you repeat from the beginning (after the honey dear opener). And here is Marilyn Monroe to demonstrate that when a woman sings it the knee line is changed to “though I sit upon your knee.”

After you get what you want, you don’t want it
If I gave you the moon, you’d grow tired of it soon

You’ll grow tired of me
‘Cause after you get what you want
You don’t want what you wanted at all

You can buy the Boardwalk Empire (Vol. 1) album on iTunes for $12.99. It has the version recorded by Kathy Brier accompanied by Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks.