I knew a man once
Very long ago
They say that he was born in Buffalo
But I don't believe it
Buffalo was never sufficiently gilded and pearled
And this man turned out to be
The playboy of the western world

Oh, he was elegant past all dreaming
He made seeming seem like the real McCoy
All the sheiks of Araby, all the shahs of Persia
Couldn’t hold a candle to this boy

When he walked through a room
It looked as handsome as Napoleon’s tomb
And the Ford he rode
Could have been Mercedes-Benz à la mode

When he took me out I didn’t doubt
That we were going to the Astor or the Sherry-Netherland
Spring seemed to linger
In the little bunch of flowers he pressed into my hand

Little bunch of flowers, didn’t cost a dime
Picked them in the park in their prime
He went around with his heart unfurled
The one and only playboy of the western world
You could fall in love with everyone you’d meet
When you walked with him down the street

Playboys die young, this one did too
All worn out making dreams come true

And the world was grim again, without him again
Without him

For he was, elegant past all dreaming
He made seeming seem like the real McCoy
All the sheiks of Araby, all the shahs of Persia
Couldn’t hold a candle to this boy

When they took him out, oh, I didn’t doubt
That we were going, he was going to Miami or some other wonderland
Spring seemed to linger
In the little bunch of flowers I pressed into his hand

Little bunch of flowers, didn’t cost a dime
Picked them in the park, in their prime

He went around with his heart unfurled
The one and only playboy of the western world
He was the playboy of the western world
The playboy of the western world