Society's got us by the you-know-what we've been livin' way too high
We got champagne taste and a beer pocketbook and it's all we can do to get by

I keep sayin' I'll never bring it up again but I just can't keep still
Who ever heard of people poor as us drive a Cadillac Coupe DeVille
We wear fancy clothes that we can't anyway afford than anything else we do
There outta be a law against living this way when we need little things like food

And I'm gonna have to spend my birthday money to pay the telephone bill
That's what I get for feeling the kind of hopes I can't afford to fill

‘Cause society's got us by the you-know-what we're been livin' way too high
We got champagne taste and a beer pocketbook and it's all we can do to get by

And we can't afford this kind of rent but I know you wouldn't move
And who am I kiddin' I wouldn't either
This is what you call in a groove
Oh, it's our little way of feelin' big when you can't be big for real
And we do deserve these material things we just can't pay the bills

We're afflicted with a love and high class dreams
And we can't afford to dream
But knowin' all that and doin' somethin' ‘bout it are two different things

‘Cause society's got us by the you-know-what we're been livin' way too high
We got champagne taste and a beer pocketbook and it's all we can do to get by

Yes, society's got us by the you-know-what we're been livin' way too high
We got champagne taste and a beer pocketbook and it's all we can do to get by

Yes, society's got us by the you-know-what we're been livin' way too high
We got champagne taste and a beer pocketbook and it's all we can do to get by