Vampire Weekend - Rich Man Lyrics






When I was young, I was told I'd find
One rich man in ten has a satisfied mind
And I'm the one

100 to one says I wouldn't react
But I'm the 1 in 100 who will swing right back
Yes I'm the one

Thousands of steps and staircases to climb
Thousands of men you'd most likely decline
And yet I'm the one

10,000 to 1, could I possibly bet?
I'm compelled by your love and I haven't lost yet
Clearly you're the one

One in a million don't mean what it meant
And these millions of gold coins won't gleam when they're spent
And you're left with none

Ten million dollars
Could win the whole lot
But if ten million dollars is all that you got
You won't be the one

Hundreds of millions of papers to sign
Hundreds of millions of souls left behind
And yet we're the ones

A billion to one
Don't the odds make you sick?
To be one in a billion's a terrible trick
You're the wretched one





Other Lyrics by Artist

Rand Lyrics

Last Posts

Vampire Weekend Rich Man Comments
  1. D.... S....

    Excelent Song! Its amazing to find bands that stay creative and loyal to their style! Great Job! was waiting for your album for years. Please dont try to make mainstream music, a big mistake many bands do, because they dont understand that being different makes you unique! Sorry my bad English =D

  2. G.... L....

    This album has helped me get through my heartbreak more than I could've thought hahaha, honestly, THANK YOU VAMPIRE WEEKEND! ❤, you guys helped heal me!

  3. j.... p....

    Yedna pivot prosim -jeanjean

  4. A.... W....

    se rogie
    wants his royalty

  5. D.... H....

    Atleast there still some singers who makes old school music.

  6. M.... S....

    This album is the background music to every commercial that i wonder what the name of the song was in it ....spooky .

  7. W.... P....

    I still love this song, even if a certain melon trashed it

    W.... P....

    Ooh what melon

    W.... P....

    @Supuhfuzz What do you mean what melon, what other melon is there

    The one with the best teeth in the game

    W.... P....

    Who the fuck?

  8. b.... ....

    This sounds to me like a kid's song for learning multiples of 10 -- it's simple, and catchy. And I mean that in a GOOD way.

  9. b.... s....

    Muito daora

  10. r.... ....

    This song is beautiful. I think I got the meaning down but I’m not fully sure. Is he talking about how being rich would be so great and it’s easy to be a kind rich man, and then the more money you have it gets harder to be a good person?

    r.... ....

    Or maybe about how rich people have completely ridiculous and pretentious expectations for their spouses? Idk, I guess there's a few interpretations

  11. a.... ....

    super duper cool

  12. R.... G....

    0:54 BEST PART AND U KNOW IT

  13. R.... S....

    Incredible little tune. Everything is perfect.

  14. P.... ....

    Why do I feel like this should be in Spongebob? Just me?

  15. K.... T....

    like feat.rostam. some part of song sound like "Wood, Rostam"

  16. W.... P....

    This album just gets better and better the more times I listen to it

  17. e.... ....

    The start of the song reminded me to some song. After a few weeks I figured it out :)


    Beach boys- Wouldn´t it be nice -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD4sxxoJGkA

  18. A.... ....

    Reminds me of the song Papa Hobo by Paul Simon

  19. L.... ....

    Awww yes this is the sound we want from Vampire Weekend! A timeless tune that makes you nostalgic.

  20. e.... ....

    This sounds like it was made for a Wes Anderson film

  21. r.... D....

    Great tune 👍... I’m taking my 9 year old son to red rocks in October for his first official “show”... please play richman on Wednesday... 😍

  22. i.... ....

    Reminds me of Snow White

  23. R.... J....

    Those strings are giving me so much Merchant-Ivory Indian cinema from the late 1960s

  24. e.... k....

    I love you vampire weekend! Hope Rostam comes back.

  25. L.... S....

    2:15 great humming Ezra

  26. S.... M....

    A no ma, me recuerda a los hermosos huapangos, buena canción, contiene mucha alegría.

  27. S.... ....

    Wow incredible song. I could have sworn they sampled S.E. Rogie on the guitar or something like that. Absolutely beautiful

  28. L.... S....

    Fave track! Honestly reminds me a lot of Gentleman Jack

  29. T.... A....

    This one reminds me of those old black and white cartoons

  30. 0.... ....

    This reminds me of the opening song from Disney's Robin Hood, the one the rooster sings.

  31. B.... ....

    Reminds me of Andrew bird

  32. B.... ....

    This guitar melody is so sweet. It sounds like a Spanish love song you found on an old record

    B.... ....

    S.E.Rogie...'Please Go Easy With Me'...

  33. P.... R....

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7FXFzpAwpA

    P.... R....

    the sampled song. I fucking love S.E. Rogie

  34. J.... C....

    Wonderful!

  35. J.... M....

    I feel almost every song of this album can perfectly fit into a movie soundtrack

  36. O.... W....

    I only now realized that as the song goes on the numbers keep increasing.

    O.... W....

    Holy crap you're right

  37. C.... S....

    I hear a Penguin Cafe Orchestra influence in the music and there's nothing wrong with that.

  38. V.... R....

    It takes my breath away, THE VIOLIN!! SENDING LOVE FROM INDIA

  39. M.... S....

    Their music needs to be in a Wes Anderson film already.

  40. B.... L....

    Damn those strings though...

  41. d.... ....

    I cannot properly put in to words how much I love this band

  42. J.... A....

    I don´t now why but this song reminds me the Pinochio movie.

  43. J.... M....

    I learned to multiply x10 with this song. thanks Ezra!

  44. d.... ....

    This song sounds like it fits in perfectly in VW’s debut album

    d.... ....

    Not their debut but definitely Contra in my opinion.

    d.... ....

    Jose Rodriguez Can’t be Contra, it isn’t boring

    d.... ....

    @Penguin Fellow Is White Sky boring to you

  45. t.... ....

    Wow. Guarantee this all grows in popularity. This is so beautiful, and so are their other songs. Glad I've discovered them!

  46. e.... ....

    Does that violin give anyone else Wizard of Oz vibes?

  47. 1.... ....

    The sound on that guitar is perfect. Old and new all in one.

  48. S.... I....

    A lot of these songs feel like they come straight from the bands lives

  49. A.... ....

    it fucking got stuck in my mind. best band ever on earth

  50. C.... L....

    Sounds like something you'd hear in a Wes Anderson film 😍😍😍

    C.... L....

    Catherine Limbada the violin definitely reminds me of one of the tracks off Darjeeling Limited!

  51. J.... G....

    ♥️♥️♥️♥️🇵🇪🚀

  52. E.... M....

    sampled from s.e. rogie's please go easy with me

  53. t.... ....

    Anyone else notice how the lyrics cleverly increase by a base power of 10?

    t.... ....

    thewhatness Perhaps he couldn’t come up with a ‘hundreds of thousands’ verse :)

  54. C.... S....

    ¿Paul Simon vibes?

    C.... S....

    Not just vibes - the lyrics in the refrains are almost identical to the lyrics in the refrains of Simon's song "You're The One." I think Koenig is heavily winking at the Simon comparisons here...

    C.... S....

    I mean its a direct sample of S.E. Rogie

    C.... S....

    Yep, aping Paul Simon's Africanisms

  55. W.... ....

    Favorite track on the album. Reminds me of my childhood somehow—feels nostalgic and out of our time. Hard to categorize it.

    W.... ....

    I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels this way. A lot of this album makes me feel nostalgic about the 90's even though I was only 6 by the end of them. This album takes me back to a place I hardly knew yet feels so familiar.

    W.... ....

    It reminds me of Spongebob Squarepants

    W.... ....

    @Letícia Cristina Lol I was thinking that

  56. S.... R....

    Bob dylan feels on this one. LOVE IT.

    S.... R....

    S.E. Rogie

    S.... R....

    I just mean that it gave me the feel of 60's folk songs/ bob dylan type vocals.

  57. A.... L....

    Ezra Koenigs Lonely Hearts Club Band

    A.... L....

    Sgt. Ezra

  58. S.... A....

    sweet sweet sweet sweet

  59. F.... T....

    a Paul Simon le gusta esto

  60. J.... B....

    That background reminds me of Fleetwood Mac's "Never Going Back Again". Pure bliss. 😁

    J.... B....

    One of my favorite songs and you are spot on.

    J.... B....

    S.E.Rogie...''Please Go Easy With Me'...

  61. T.... ....

    Those violins, though, especially mixed with the synth bass... _ugh._ So good.

    T.... ....

    When you get a chance, check out Black Dialogue by The Perceptionists. Nice violin there too...

    T.... ....

    I'm obsessed with them!

  62. P.... D....

    I feel like Rostam was involved in this song... the classical sound of Vampire Weekend is him.

    P.... D....

    eh ezra too

    P.... D....

    Nope he was not. He only co-wrote and produced we belong together and additional production on harmony hall. We been robbed.

    P.... D....

    My thoughts exactly, i like ezras new side of things but I hope we ger more Rostam and Ezra collabs

    P.... D....

    Considering his solo career isn't exactly setting the world on fire, he should rejoin VW.

    P.... D....

    @Rust T agreed

  63. S.... H....

    Palm wine music sample from S.E. Rogie

  64. H.... ....

    tasty jam

  65. P.... P....

    Happiness and pain in one beautifully constructed album.

  66. T.... ....

    Everytime I hear this sample I have kool AD's "I don't wana do nuthin at all" spinning in my head since he used that sample as well. Check it out: https://youtu.be/p8AWlJlUTSc

  67. P.... e....

    Wish this one didnt have so much of that noisy guitar in the background!

  68. R.... V....

    Violins part would totally fit in a movie

  69. M.... M....

    Best song on the album by fucking far

  70. O.... H....

    So warm and lovely ahhh what a gift !!!!

  71. A.... P....

    IM SO GLAD THIS ALBUM IS OUT!!!

  72. C.... A....

    Thanks for the great music Vampire Weekend! See you in another 10 years till the next album 😂😂

    C.... A....

    prolly 2021

    C.... A....

    @DeadButterfly we can hope. Make it happen Ez.

  73. g.... ....

    Ironically, even with this title, serious Beatles vibes on this one

    g.... ....

    guzik74 A White Album, experimental, longer than usual, several short songs

    g.... ....

    S.E. Rogie

  74. K.... C....

    These lyrics are so sweet :')

  75. A.... B....

    In love!

  76. 4.... ....

    Hello my fellow late night VW fans.

  77. S.... L....

    <333333333333333

  78. S.... S....

    y e s, f i n a l l y

  79. K.... D....

    this whole album feels like a happy and sad love letter. it's beautiful.

    K.... D....

    Lovin the violin in this

    K.... D....

    I think this one is a love letter to Donald Trump ;)

    K.... D....

    Best description!!

  80. r.... a....

    México es la verga like si tengo razón

  81. T.... G....

    First ever comments I love You VAMPIRE WEEKEND!!

  82. I.... D....

    LYRICS
    When I was young, I was told I'd find
    One rich man in ten has a satisfied mind
    And I’m the one

    100 to one says I wouldn't react
    But I'm the 1 in 100 who would swing right back
    Yes, I’m the one

    Thousands of steps and staircases to climb
    Thousands of men you'd most likely decline
    And yet I'm the one

    10,000 to 1, could I possibly bet?
    I'm compelled by your love and I haven't lost yet
    Clearly, you're the one

    One in a million don't mean what it meant
    And these millions of gold coins don't gleam when they’re spent
    You’re left with none

    Ten million dollars could win the whole lot
    But if ten million dollars is all that you got
    You won't be the one

    Hundreds of millions of papers to sign
    Hundreds of millions of souls left behind
    And yet, we’re the ones

    A billion to one, don't the odds make you sick?
    To be one in a billion's a terrible trick
    You're the wretched one

    When I was young, I was told I’d find
    One rich man in ten has a satisfied mind
    And I'm the one

    I.... D....

    Thank you!!

  83. S.... A....

    BEST TRACK ON THE ALBUM!!

    S.... A....

    Anthony Fantano would like to have a word with you.

    S.... A....

    True dat !

    S.... A....

    kalphablue well he’s a big d u m b and is w r o n g

    S.... A....

    I agree

    S.... A....

    @Popcorn Sutton Since nobody's mentioned it yet: I love 2021, totally fits the cheery melancholy of the rest of the album too!

  84. B.... V....

    OH FRICK YES

  85. r.... j....

    aaaaaaahhhhh

  86. C.... G....

    AHHHHHHH