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!

C

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.

Eb

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!

C

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

 





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