Rolfe: You wait, little girl, on an empty stage
For fate to turn the light on.
Your life, little girl, is an empty page
That men will want to write on.
Liesl: To write on.

Rolfe: You are sixteen going on seventeen
Baby it’s time to think, better be wary, canny and careful
Baby you’re on the brink. You are sixteen going on seventeen
Fellows will fall in line, eager young lads and roués and cads
Will offer you food and wine

Totally unprepared are you to face the world of men
Timid and shy and scared are you of things beyond your ken
You need someone older and wiser telling you what to do
I am seventeen going on eighteen, I’ll take care of you

Liesl: I am sixteen going on seventeen, I know that I’m na¨ve
Fellows I meet may tell me I’m sweet and willingly I believe.
I am sixteen going on seventeen innocent as a rose
Bachelor dandies, drinkers of brandies, what do I know of those?

Totally unprepared am I to face the world of men
Timid and shy and scared am I of things beyond my ken
I need someone older and wiser telling me what to do
Both: You are [I am] seventeen going on eighteen
I’ll depend on [I’ll take care of] you