For a little tenderness I'd give you diamonds which the devil caresses in my treasure chest. Why do you think, my love, does a sailor in port turn out his pockets to offer his silver to phoney princesses? For a little tenderness! For a little tenderness I'd change the way I look I'd change my drunken habits I'd change the way I talk. Why do you think, my love, that while singing their songs emperors and singers often throw away riches and power? For a little tenderness! For a little tenderness at my summer's end I'd offer you what's left of the days of my youth How else can you explain why, of everything I do, every song is meant for you, all the old and all the new, and these I'd give you for a little tenderness!