Artificial Flowers
Alone in the world
Was poor little Anne
As sweet a young child as you'd find
Her parents had gone
To their final reward
Leavin' their baby behind
Did ya hear, this poor little child
Was only nine years of age
When mother and dad went away
Still she bravely worked
At the one thing she knew
To earn her few pennies a day
She made artificial flowers, artificial flowers
Flowers for ladies of fashion to wear
She made artificial flowers
You know those artificial flowers
Fashioned from Annie's despair
With paper and shears
With some wire and wax
She made up each tulip and mum
As snowflakes drifted
Into her tenement room
Her baby little fingers grew numb
From makin' artificial flowers
Those artificial flowers
Flowers for ladies of high fashion to wear
They found little Annie
All covered with ice
Still clutching her poor frozen shears
Amidst all the blossoms
She had fashioned by hand
And watered with all her young tears
There must be a heaven
Where little Annie can play
In heavenly gardens and bowers
And instead of a halo
She'll wear 'round her head
A garland of genuine flowers
No more artificial flowers
Throw away those artificial flowers
Flowers for ladies of society to wear
Throw away those artificial flowers
Those dum-dum flowers
Fashioned from Annie's despair
Give her the real thing
This song is from a 1960 Broadway show titled Tenderloin, which was the name for Manhattan's red light district in the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th. Its plot is mainly about corruption, not from the brothels but from the police and the politicians that prey on them. The heroic roles are played by the press and the clergy. The male protagonist is a newspaperman who, as part of his investigation, is trying to infiltrate the church's ranks. He auditions for a position in the church's choir with this song, which is basically a mock version of the very tragic, Victorian-associated ballads that were popular in the late 19th century. "Artificial Flowers" was one of three songs from the show that enjoyed recordings from a few pop vocalists.
So, the song was originally conceived as satire, although I think that the show's version was sung in a serious, straight manner.
Bobby and his producer and his arranger probably felt that the song was perfect for him due to the huge success of his "Mack the Knife," another showtune with a satirical bent.
Still another, earlier Bobby sequel to "Mack the Knife" is "Clementine," a folk song which becomes, in his version, the story of a girl so fat that she cracks a bridge and falls down to her death ... all of this cheerily sung by our dear Bobby. Not a politically correct approach in any of those numbers, but they sure swing in an irresistible manner.