[Intro]
Men of good fortune, words and lyrics, Lou Reed

[Verse 1]
My dear mother told me an old maid I'll be
Less men of good fortune came courtin’ for me
A doctor, a lawyer, a minister's bride
But if not asked to marry your own, I would die
An old maid, an old maid, an old maid I'd be
Less men of good fortune came courtin’ for me

[Verse 2]
When I was 14, she repeated again
Unfaithful and ugly are the ways of all men
But a woman's no better than the last man she's known
And if you don't marry, you'll die all alone
An old maid, an old maid, an old maid, I'd be
Less men of good fortune came courtin' for me

[Verse 3]
So I learned how to cook and I learned how to sew
I made pretty red dresses with pretty red bows
I learned how to smile, how to curtsy and spin
And so this pure, for I was free from sin

[Verse 4]
When I was 18, my mother, she died
With her heart nearly broken as I was no man's bride
But men of good fortune, they had not appeared
Just townboys and drunkards who made me feel scared
An old maid, an old maid, an old maid I’d be
Less men of good fortune came courtin’ for me
[Verse 5]
God willing, I know the time soon will arrive
When a man of good fortune will stand by my side
With fine carriage and manners for around me to see
A man of good fortune has come to see me