Henrietta we got no flowers for you
Just these three miserable c**ts
Sitting on the back seat banging on the off beat
We know you love us and you probably do
Although you're husband may cut us
He's such an animal though everything is possible

Give us a kiss and maybe we can go out
It's hard to miss you when you follow us about
Buy us some shoes and maybe take us for cola
We'll get you there in some filthy big gondola

Clean out the bank and bump off your daddy
You can come live with us among the has beens and the addicts
These are crazy times down at Costello music
You can answer the phone and talk nice anyway you choose it , come on

Dear Henrietta we're just three lonely boys
Though the girls love us we're so
Into you incredibly we'd love to see you terribly
We'd love to hate you but we don't have no choice
Come be our wa ha ha ha
Honey, honey three four one time once more

Give us a kiss and maybe we can go out
It's hard to miss you when you follow us about
Buy us some shoes and maybe take us for cola
We'll get you there in some filthy big gondola

Clean out the bank and bump off your daddy
You can come live with us among the has beens and the addicts
These are crazy times down at Costello music
You can answer the phone and talk nice anyway you choose it, come on

Clean out the bank and bump off your daddy
You can come live with us among the has beens and the addicts
These are crazy times down at Costello music
You can answer the phone and talk nice anyway you choose it, come on



Lyrics submitted by Milburn

Track duration: 03:32

"Henrietta" as written by John Lawler

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Henrietta song meanings
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26 Comments

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  • +1
    My Opinion:Well, I really don't credit myself to know exactly what they meant by the lyrics, but I will say from the video it seems to me that this is a woman whose job it is to care, cook and clean for a man she does not love. She meets some young men who appreciate her handiwork and falls in love with them & vice-versa (could be platonic, could be something more...), though the young men in question aren't really well-to-do young men.

    "Henrietta we got no flowers for you
    Just these three miserable cunts
    Sitting on the back seat turning on the off beat
    We know you love us and you probably do"

    They can't offer her anything, because in their youth they don't have the wealth to buy her any fancy jewelry or any pretty dresses; they can barely afford flowers! But she loves them regardless. It almost implies a mother-son relation in that they are children who love their mother and in their youth can only express it in spirit. (The "woo-hoo" sounds make me feel like they're a couple of really young blokes: late teens early twenties.)

    "Although your husband may cut us
    He's such an animal though everything is possible"

    This implies that she is in a relationship that even she dislikes, and she can't even leave him because he's so vile.

    "Dear Henrietta we're just three lonely boys
    Though the girls love us we're so
    Into you incredibly we'd love to see you terribly"

    This implies that the men are handsome and could have whoever they wanted, but they only like to pal around with her. It makes her seem kind of like a 'cougar' (if you'll pardon the expression...). They really like spending time with her.

    "We'd love to hate you but we don't have no choice
    Come be our wa ha ha ha
    Honey, honey three four one time once more"

    They don't even know why they're so interested in her (probably the experiance that comes with age...), they've come to need her as a part of their group.

    Finally the repeats of:

    "Give us a kiss and maybe we can go out
    It's hard to miss you when you follow us about
    Buy us some shoes and maybe take us for cola
    We'll get you there in some filthy big gondola

    Clean out the bank and bump off your daddy
    You can come live with us among the has beens and the addicts
    These are crazy times down at Costello music
    You can answer the phone and talk nice anyway you choose it
    Come on
    Oh come on
    Oh come on..."

    Notice how they ask HER to buy/do things for THEM (I consider the secretary job to be something they ask of her). She is the dominant party of this relationship (they depend on her) which is probably what she likes most about it, unlike the way her husband gets to make the rules in her home life, she gets to take care of the boys and be in charge. When they state that she follows them, it amplifies the fact that she likes being their help, and she wants them to need/depend on her. That they're offering her a life amoungst has-beeens and addicts means that while with them she won't be living as secure a life as she would with her husband, with them she will have a wild life ('crazy times down at Costello music').

    Remember, this is only what I personally think.
    Flag feedapollyonon December 30, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:When i listen to this song i think of an obsessed fan, like mel from FOC, and whoever wrote the song took advantage of her because...he could. So now he felt wierd about it and wrote a song as a form of apology.
    Flag CloudNineon March 06, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:the secretary theory makes sense to me. I think this was a very uptight girl with an even more uptight husband, who secretely liked the band because it made her feel free. I think it's very ironic ... "come live with us among the has beens and the addicts", they don't think she would actually dare or even like to go with them.
    Flag Bancatesedefectoon February 19, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love this song! =)
    At first I thought this song was about a groupie...hehe.
    Flag Schlechter Penguinon January 08, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I absolutely love this song, it gets me in a really good mood
    Flag Pointless Pointon December 23, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this song is about a girl/woman that they know who has a crap life and a crap husband but she refuses to leave him so the boys try to convince her to come live with them
    Flag nightsky13on October 13, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song is the reason i looove the fratellis
    Flag jinx*on July 28, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:my favorite song on the album, very clever, and catchy,
    Flag IamAgrapefruiton June 22, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This... is my current favorite song by The Fratellis. Maybe it's about some married woman that they know, someone who isn't so happy with her marriage or the direction that her life's going in. Perhaps she likes their music or something, and they're inviting her to run away with them... 'cause they want something different for her, too. I don't know... they almost seem to make fun of her. I love it, though, it kicks ass.
    Flag xmakesherflyxon May 20, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think it's about a woman (maybe a mum's friend) that was obsessed with the band so they took her with them and partied with her and she left her husbands (like the husband reference in the beginning...also the music video shows her leaving her husband while riding with the band)...
    Flag solarandlunaron May 12, 2007   Link

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