Nat “King” Cole
I’m an Ordinary Man
[Verse 1]
I'm an ordinary man
Who desires nothing more than an ordinary chance
To live exactly as he likes
And do precisely what he wants
An average man am I
Of no eccentric whim
Who likes to live his life, free from strife
Doing whatever he thinks is best for him
Just an ordinary man

[Verse 2]
But, let a woman in your life
And your serenity is through
She'll redecorate your home
From the cellar to the dome
Then get on to the enthralling
Fun of overhauling you

Oh let a woman in your lifе
And you're up against a wall
Make a plan and you will find
She has somеthing else in mind
And so rather than do either
You do something else
That neither likes at all
You want to talk of Keats or Milton
She only wants to talk of love
You go to see a play or ballet
And spend it searching for her glove

Oh let a woman in your life
And you invite eternal strife
Let them buy their wedding bands
For those anxious little hands
I'd be equally as willing
For a dentist to be drilling
Than to ever let a woman in my life

[Verse 3]
I'm a very gentle man
Even tempered and good natured
Whom you'd never hear complain
Who has the milk of human kindness
By the quart in every vein
A patient man am I
Down to my fingertips
The sort who never could, ever would
Let an insulting remark escape his lips
Just an ordinary man

[Verse 4]
But, let a woman in your life
And patience hasn't got a chance
She will beg you for advice
Your reply will be concise
And she'll listen very nicely
And then go out and do precisely what she wants
You are a man of grace and polish
Who never spoke above a hush
Now at once you're using language
That would make a sailor blush

Oh let a woman in your life
And you are plunging in a knife
Let the others of my sex
Tie the knot around their necks
I prefer a new edition of the Spanish Inquisition
Than to ever let a woman in my life

[Verse 5]
I'm a quiet living man
Who prefers to spend his evenings
In the silence of his room
Who likes an atmosphere as restful as
An undiscovered tomb
A pensive man am I
Of philosophic joys
Who likes to meditate, contemplate
Free from humanity's mad inhuman noise
Just a quiet living man

[Verse 6]
But, let a woman in your life
And your sabbatical is through
In a line that never ends
Come an army of her friends
Come to jabber and to chatter
And to tell her what the matter is with you
She'll have a booming boisterous family
Who will descend on you en masse
She'll have a large Wagnerian mother
With a voice that shatters glass

[Outro]
Oh let a woman in your life
Oh let a woman in your life
Let a woman in your life

I shall never let a woman in my life