She climbs a tree and scrapes her

knee, her dress has got a tear

She waltzes on her way to Mass

and whistles on the stair

And underneath her wimple

she has curlers in her hair

I even heard her singing in the abbey

She's always late for chapel,

but her penitence is real

She's always late for everything,

e cept for every meal

I hate to have to say it, but

I very firmly feel Maria's

not an asset to the abbey

I'd like to say a word in her behalf

Maria makes me laugh

How do you solve a problem like Maria?

How do you catch a

cloud and pin it down?

How do you find the

word that means Maria?

A flibbertijibbet! A

will o' the wisp! A clown!

Many a thing you know

you'd like to tell her

Many a thing she ought to understand

But how do you make her stay

and listen to all you say

How do you keep a wave upon the sand?

Oh, how do you solve

a problem like Maria?

How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?

When I'm with her I'm confused,

out of focus and bemused

And I never know e actly where I am

Unpredictable as weather,

she's as flighty as a feather

She's a darling! She's

a demon! She's a lamb!

She'll out pester any pest,

drive a hornet from its nest

She could throw a whirling

dervish out of whirl

She is gentle! She is wild!

She's a riddle! She's a child!

She's a headache! She's

an angel! She's a girl!

How do you solve a problem like Maria?

How do you catch a

cloud and pin it down?

How do you find the

word that means Maria?

A flibbertijibbet!

A will o' the wisp! A clown!

Many a thing you know

you'd like to tell her

Many a thing she ought to understand

But how do you make her stay

and listen to all you say

How do you keep a wave upon the sand?

Oh, how do you solve

a problem like Maria?

How do you hold a moonbeam?

How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?

Maria!