Little Girl Blue
Janis Joplin ( Lyrics

Sit there, hmm, count your fingers.
Stay put and do nothing but idle away by counting your fingers.

What else, what else is there to do ?
Asks a rhetorical question that implies the singer's belief that there is nothing interesting to do.

Oh and I know how you feel,
Asserts the singer's empathy with the listener and attempts to establish rapport.

I know you feel that you're through.
Implies that the listener has given up on some aspect of their life, is in despair or not seeing any advancement.

Oh wah wah ah sit there, hmm, count,
Uses a nonsense phrase 'wah wah ah' to show the singer's empathy and try to bring the listener to activity by repeating the idle action of finger counting.

Ah, count your little fingers,
Repeats the instruction from before in a musical manner.

My unhappy oh little girl, little girl blue, yeah.
Labels the listener as an unhappy person through the use of epithets and acknowledges a sense of empathy with the phrase 'little girl blue.'

Oh sit there, oh count those raindrops
Encourages the listener to imagine something more interesting than counting her fingers, and suggests they should count the raindrops instead.

Oh, feel 'em falling down, oh honey all around you.
Describes a visualization of the raindrops falling down and around the listener to create a mood and setting.

Honey don't you know it's time,
Asserts that the listener is in the position to react and do something concrete to change her situation.

I feel it's time,
Attempts to persuade the listener to recognize the time they're spending doing useless things and instead to do something to change it.

Somebody told you 'cause you got to know
Suggests that someone else has observed the listener and suggested that it is time for a change.

That all you ever gonna have to count on
Warns the listener that they will not have anything else to depend on if they continue to waste their time the way they have been.

Or gonna want to lean on
Implies that the listener will not have any support or anyone to rely on when they need help or support.

It's gonna feel just like those raindrops do
Draws an analogy between the loneliness and despair of the listener and the melancholy feeling of raindrops.

When they're falling down, honey, all around you.
Repeats the metaphor of the falling raindrops being symbolically similar to the listener's despair.

Oh, I know you're unhappy.
Reiterates the empathy and understanding of the singer.

Oh sit there, ah go on, go on
Encourages the listener to continue wasting time.

And count your fingers.
Reiterates the idle activity of finger counting, in a manner that is slightly dismissive.

I don't know what else, what else
Admits a lack of knowledge, and also signals that the singer empathizes with the listener's situation.

Honey have you got to do.
Questions the listener's life or occupation, drawing attention to the fact, that there might be more important things to attend to.

And I know how you feel,
Repeats the empathy and understanding of the singer.

And I know you ain't got no reason to go on
Asserts that the listener has lost her motivation, that her life lost its purpose.

And I know you feel that you must be through.
Repeats the listener's sense of resignation and despair.

Oh honey, go on and sit right back down,
Encourages the listener to return to their idle behaviour.

I want you to count, oh count your fingers,
Reiterates the instruction to count her fingers, which is associated with wasting time.

Ah my unhappy, my unlucky
Adjectives further describe the listener as being in a bad state, reflecting the singer's empathy.

And my little, oh, girl blue.
Describes the listener as a sad and demoralized girl.

I know you're unhappy,
Emphasizes the empathy and understanding of the singer.

Ooh ah, honey I know,
The repeating of 'I know', accompanied by onomatopoeic sounds, conveys the singer's understanding of the emotional position of the listener.

Baby I know just how you feel.
Concludes the song in a reaffirming manner that reiterates the singer's understanding of the listener's feelings.