(What D’Ya Give) The Man Who’s Gotten Everything

Song Meaning

These lyrics introduce a narrator who has achieved the pinnacle of material success, boasting of everything "From the colour TV to the cigar shaped pool." Initially, there's a proud, almost dismissive tone, declaring, "I've got the lot, and I don't give a damn." Yet, this early confidence quickly unravels, revealing a deep-seated ennui. The central tension emerges from the narrator's self-proclaimed "rags to riches" story culminating in a profound emptiness. Despite being a "self-made chap" who has bought "everything I can," he bluntly dismisses it all as "a load of crap." The core of his misery is a paradox: "I'm bored if I can't spend / And bored if I can," suggesting that the act of acquisition, or even the potential for it, has lost all meaning. The most striking craft element arrives with the stark contrast in the third verse: "I've bought the world, but I've sold myself." This powerful line encapsulates the spiritual cost of his relentless pursuit of wealth. The subsequent, darkly ironic twist – "But I can always buy that back / With my kind of wealth" – suggests a cynical belief that even personal integrity or happiness is just another commodity, or perhaps a desperate delusion that some things are beyond price. The repeated chorus, "What do you give the man who's gotten everything," transforms from a rhetorical question into a lament. The constant refrain of "Got it all" throughout the song, especially in the outro, emphasizes not the joy of possession, but the suffocating weight of it. These lyrics effectively use blunt language and sharp irony to portray the ultimate futility of consumerism when true fulfillment remains elusive.