Poor, Poor Pitiful Me Ukulele Chords – Warren Zevon. This song use the chords: C, G, D. You can change the key for free, as needed.
Poor, Poor Pitiful Me Ukulele Chords – Warren Zevon
INTRO:
C G C G
VERSE 1:
I Claid my Ghead on the Drailroad tGracks
And Cwait for the GDouble “E”
The Crailroad Gdon’t Drun no mGore
CHORUS 1:
CPoor, Gpoor Dpitiful mGe
CPoor, poor Gpitiful me
VERSE 2:
CThese young Ggirls won’t Dlet me Gbe
CLord have mercy on Dme
Woe is Gme
Well, I Cmet a Ggirl in West DHollywoodG
CI ain’t naming Gnames
But she Creally Gworked me Dover Ggood
She was Cjust like GJesse James
She Creally Gworked me Dover Ggood
She was a Ccredit Gto her gender
She Cput me Gthrough some Dchanges, GLord
Sort of Clike a GWaring blender
CHORUS 2:
CPoor, Gpoor Dpitiful mGe
CPoor, poor Gpitiful me
VERSE 3:
CThese young Ggirls won’t Dlet me Gbe
CLord have mercy on Dme
Woe is Gme
SOLO:
C G D G
C G x2
CHORUS 3:
CPoor, Gpoor Dpitiful Gme
CPoor, poor pitiful Gme
CThese young Ggirls won’t Dlet me Gbe
CLord have mercy on Dme
Woe is Gme
VERSE 4:
I Gmet a girl at the Rainbow bar
She asked me if I’d beat her
She took me back to the Hyatt House
I don’t want to talk about it
CHORUS 4:
CPoor, Gpoor Dpitiful Gme
CPoor, poor pitiful Gme
CPoor, Gpoor Dpitiful Gme
CPoor, poor pitiful Gme
Fade to end…
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“Poor, Poor Pitiful Me” History:
“Poor, Poor Pitiful Me” is a song written by Warren Zevon and originally released in 1976 on his self-titled album Warren Zevon. It’s one of his better-known songs and later became more widely recognized through a cover version by Linda Ronstadt.
What the song is about
On the surface, it sounds humorous and upbeat, but it’s actually a darkly comic take on self-pity, toxic relationships, and emotional chaos.
The narrator keeps finding himself in destructive or abusive romantic situations, but instead of presenting it as tragedy, Zevon frames it with irony—almost like he’s shrugging and laughing at how bad things keep going.
The repeated phrase “poor, poor pitiful me” is sarcastic rather than sincere. It’s more like:
“Here we go again… same mess, different day.”
Tone and style
- Musically: upbeat rock with a slightly country-rock edge
- Lyrically: sarcastic, dark humor, storytelling-driven
- Emotionally: detached, ironic, self-aware rather than sentimental
That contrast—happy-sounding music with grim subject matter—is very typical of Zevon’s writing style.
Key themes
- Repeating patterns in relationships
- Emotional manipulation and abuse (presented indirectly, not graphically)
- Self-deprecating humor as coping
- Cynicism about romance and fate
The Linda Ronstadt version
The song became more commercially visible when Linda Ronstadt covered it in 1978 on her album Simple Dreams. Her version:
- Softened the tone slightly
- Made it more radio-friendly
- Became a hit single, helping Zevon gain wider recognition as a songwriter
Why it stands out
This song is a good example of Zevon’s talent for mixing:
- catchy rock arrangements
- with very dark, ironic storytelling
It’s funny on the surface, but underneath it’s about emotional exhaustion and repeating unhealthy cycles.
