GUELYLANDSONG # 15: Lydia the Tattooed Lady

In 1939, when tattooed girls were not everywhere, Harold Arling and Yip Harburg wrote this funny song. The version that you are about to check is a mix I did from four very different movie renditions of this happy tune. They are: Robin Willians (The Fisher King,1991) Groucho Marx (from the 1939 At the Circus), Kermit the Frog (The Muppets Show, 1976)and little Virginia Weidler (The Philadelfia Story, 1940).

"Lydia, the Tattooed Lady" (Music by Harold Arlen and Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg)

Oh Lydia, oh Lydia, say, have you met Lydia?
Lydia The Tattooed Lady.
She has eyes that folks adore so,
and a torso even more so.
Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclo-pidia.
Oh Lydia The Queen of Tattoo.
On her back is The Battle of Waterloo.
Beside it, The Wreck of the Hesperus too.
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.

When her robe is unfurled she will show you the world,
if you step up and tell her where.
For a dime you can see Kankakee or Paree,
or Washington crossing The Delaware.
La-la-la...la-la-la. La-la-la...la-la-la.

Oh Lydia, oh Lydia, say, have you met Lydia?
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!
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 Nijinsky a-doin' the rhumba.
Here's her social security numba.
La-la-la...la-la-la. La-la-la...la-la-la.

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!