Lydia, The Tattooed Lady

Words & Music:

Harold Arlen

C G

Lydia, oh Lydia, say, have you met Lydia? Lydia, the tattooed lady?

F C F C F Dm F Dm

She has eyes that folks adore so, and a torso even more so.

C F

Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclo-pidia; oh Lydia, the queen of tattoo!

Dm F

On her back is the Battle of Waterloo. Beside it the Wreck of the Hesperus, too.

C F C G C

And proudly above waves the red, white and blue. You can learn a lot from Lydia!

La-la-la, la-la-la. La-la-la, la-la-la.

Eb Bb

When her robe is unfurled, she will show you the world If you step up and tell her where.

Bb Eb

For a dime you can see Kankakee or Paree or Washington crossing the Delaware

Eb C

La-la-la, la-la-la. La-la-la, la-la-la.

Ah, Lydia, oh Lydia, say, have you met Lydia? Oh, Lydia, the tattooed lady?

When her muscles start relaxin', up the hill comes Andrew Jackson.

Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclo-pidia; oh Lydia, the queen of them all.

For two bits she will do a mazurka in jazz with a view of Niagara that nobody has.

And on a clear day, you can see Alcatraz. You can learn a lot from Lydia!

C Eb

La-la-la, la-la-la. La-la-la, la-la-la.

Come along and see Buffalo Bill with his lasso.

Just a little classic by Mendel Picasso.

Here is Captain Spaulding exploring the Amazon.

Here's Godiva but with her pajamas on.

La-la-la, la-la-la. La-la-la, la-la-la.

Here is Grover Whelan unveilin' the Trilon.

Over on the west coast we have Treasure Isle-on

Here's Nijinski a-doin' the rumba.

Here's her social security numbah.

Eb C

[whistle here instead of the "La-las"]

Ah Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclo-pidia, oh Lydia, the champ of them all!

She once swept an admiral clear off his feet.

The ships on her hips made his heart skip a beat.

And now the old boy's in command of the fleet for he went and married Lydia!

I said Lydia. He said Lydia. They said Lydia. We said Lydia. La-la!