Lyrics for Baby You're a Rich Man as interpreted by Ice

Baby You're a Rich Man Lyrics
How does it feel to be one of the beautiful people
Now that you know who you are
What do you want to be and have you traveled very far
Far as the eye can see
How does it feel to be one of the people
How often have you been there often enough to know
What did you see when you were there?
Nothing that doesn't show
Baby, you're a rich man
Baby, you're a rich man
Baby, you're a rich man too
You keep all your money in a big brown bag inside the zoo
What a thing to do
Baby, you're a rich man
Baby, you're a rich man
Baby, you're a rich man too
How does it feel to be one of the beautiful people
Tuned to a natural E
Happy to be that way now that you've found another key
What are you going to play?
Baby, you're a rich man
Baby, you're a rich man
Baby, you're a rich man too
You keep all your money in a big brown bag inside a zoo
What a thing to do
Baby, you're a rich man
Baby, you're a rich man
Baby, you're a rich man too

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  • 38 Comments
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strwberryf1ds
04-09-2002

Rated 0 
ive never actually heard this song... but i remember reading about it in book by Ray Coleman, (a close associate with the Beatles), "Lennon." supposedly this song was "dedicated" to the late Brian Epstein; originally titled "Baby youre a rich f*g jew." If u wanna check it, the title and author of the book are there. The song def shows Lennon's disgust of the "business type." But i always thought him and epstein were friends. maybe its some of John's dark humor??

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weezerific:cutlery
06-12-2003

Rated 0 
yep. this song was definitely written about brian epstein. john didn't like epstein that much...

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DJacques75
05-25-2004

Rated 0 
It's not exactly true that John didn't like Brian Epstein. He liked him as a person; he described him as a "real person" as opposed to the fake John Eastman in the 1970 RS interviews. He did, however, acknowledge that Epstein had somewhat taken advantage of them financially.

I don't know if the "rich f*g Jew" thing is often cited, but I don't know whether it is accurate or even whether Coleman claimed it was accurate or mentioned it as a rumor.

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classicrockgirl
06-25-2004

Rated 0 
i remember reading this song was about hippies. i dunno. don't ask me. i just really, really like it.

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maharishi
12-24-2004

Rated 0 
Baby You're a Rich Fag Jew is a popular misheard lyric.
This is most likely a myth.

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Grobus
01-07-2005

Rated 0 
Maybe if you play it backwards itll reveal secret lyrics about Brain Epstein, Satan and the meaning of life.

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julesrules
01-16-2005

Rated 0 
yeah i love all the subliminal messages in queen and beatles songs...i personally believe that they were put there lol :)

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nosleeppolice
02-16-2005

Rated 0 
How do you know this aint about himself, Paul or one of the Beatles like?
knowhaimean?

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lyricstudent
03-12-2005

Rated 0 
One of the things I like about "Baby You're a Rich Man" is the clapping..

I always wonder to myself.. which of the beatles are doing the clapping? Is it just one of them, with multiple tracks recorded? All 4 of them? Or just a stagehand doing the clapping?

This mystery may forever bother me..

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TheUniversal
04-07-2005

Rated 0 
This song sounds like it has a heavy sarcastic tone.

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planetearth
05-03-2005

Rated 0 
It's a mix between unfinished songs of John and Paul. The first part of the song John wrote, while Paul wrote and filled in the rest. By the way, John for as much as I know, liked Brian Epstein. All the Beatles were devastated when they heard of his death. I think John felt sorry for Brian, b/c he never had a true companion/lover.

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regular_freak
09-07-2005

Rated 0 
Turn up the volume, turn up the bass, and tune out the subliminal message crap you've heard about. I just love this song, completely love it. I don't know why, but i am just overwhelmed by how pretty it sounds, words, lyrics, everything.
But, man, lyricstudent, deep thinking. Very very deep. Now i can't help but wonder who did the clapping. Thanks for geting that problem lodged in my brain. ;)

*How does it feel to be one of the beautiful people
Now that you know who you are*

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dawgsnkats
10-28-2005

Rated 0 
Who puts their money in the zoo?

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cvcjr13
12-14-2005

Rated 0 
Dawgsnkats, that's the very lyric I'm curious about. Now, if planetearth is correct, and say John wrote the wonderful lyrics while Paul wrote the chorus, I'm afraid that explains it. But hopefully, there's some explanation of "you keep all your money in a big brown bag inside a zoo" that doesn't require the assistance of illegal substances to understand. It's the only part of the song I don't like because it doesn't fit in with the rest of what otherwise is a wonderful song.

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JofaGuht
01-09-2006

Rated 0 
Someone told me it was about the Maraheshi Yogi or whatever, who's a leader in transcendental meditation and tries to get people to reach a self-balance by denouncing all material goods. Turns out the guy had like four Rolls Royces or something from all the money he made preaching transcendental meditation.

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JosephWolf
01-09-2006

Rated 0 
Mick Jagger sang backup on this.

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Minya
01-29-2006

Rated 0 
JofaGuht, "Sexy Sadie" is about the Maharishi, (Sex-e-Sa-de) (Mah-har-i-shi), "Baby You're A Rich Man" is about Brian Epstein.

This song is great, it reminds me of alot of people I know.

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findsomepeace
02-01-2006

Rated 0 
I love the cheerful sarcasm of this song.

i would love to know how does it feel to be one of the beautiful people...

btw, the money in the bag at the zoo is just plain hilarious. maybe it has to do with the fact that if someone really did do that, the money would be very useless, in the midst of a bunch of animals???

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handsdown4dbeatles
02-08-2006

Rated 0 
Ha! That explains it.

No offense to Sir Paul McCartney, but John Lennon will always be my favorite.

The first part of the song is very beautiful. John Lennon wrote that.

The end part was written by Paul. It makes no sense.

But the song is beautiful, it is funny in the end, but very meaningful in the first part. Very balanced, don't you think?

pJ ;P

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airforbes1
05-02-2006

Rated 0 
I like the song...except the zoo line. It's a cop out rhyme.

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heyjude55
05-27-2006

Rated 0 
I had that same thought about clapping but with like every song that has it. But this song is awesome

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GTinsdale
05-29-2006

Rated 0 
"Baby You're a Rich Man" is NOT about Brian Epstein and the original title was not "Baby You're a Rich Fag Jew." Like most of his songs, Lennon wrote this song about himself. He was raised a poor, working-class kid in Liverpool and suddenly he found himself the toast of the town, with wealth and fame beyond his wildest dreams. The song is merely a reflection of what he realized he had become.

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scoonman
05-29-2006

Rated 0 
Just another example of how awesome a musician and waste of a talented human life Brian Jones was. He played on this record, and the horn that is so much a part of the beauty of this song is his. He also played the saxophone on the beatles song "you know my name".

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GTinsdale
05-31-2006

Rated 0 
Scoonman - It might sound like an oboe, but the instrument you're referring to is a Clavioline, a monophonic keyboard that could imitate other instruments. (It's one of the many predecessors to the synthesizers that would follow.) The only musicians on the track were the Beatles, although there's some speculation that Mick Jagger was in the studio and sang along on the choruses. (Personally, I can't make out his voice.)

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scoonman
06-09-2006

Rated 0 
Brian Jones, the guitarist from The Rolling Stones, played an oboe on this. A few years earlier, Lennon and McCartney gave The Stones a song called "I Wanna Be Your Man," which was one of their first hits, and helped convince Mick Jagger and Keith Richards that they should write their own songs(This is from Songfacts.com)

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