Groucho Marx - Lydia the Tattooed Lady

My life was wrapped around the circus.
Her name was Lydia.
I met her at the world's fair in 1900,
marked down from 1940.

Ah, Lydia.
She was the most glorious creature
Under the su-un.
Guiess. DuBarry. Garbo.
Rolled into one.

Oooooooh
Lydia oh Lydia, say have you met Lydia,
Lydia, the Tatooed Lady.
She has eyes that folks adore so,
And a torso even more so.

Lydia oh lydia, that encyclopidia,
Oh Lydia the Queen of Tatoo.
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 Paris,
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,
Oh Lydia the Tatooed Lady
When her muscles start relaxin',
Up the hill comes Andrew Jackson


Lydia oh Lydia, that encyclopidia,
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 Buff'lo 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 Whalen unveilin' the Trilon.
Over on the West Coast we have Treaure Island.
Here's Najinsky a-doin' the rhumba.
Here's her social security numba.

{whistles}La la la, la la la, la la la, la la la

Oh Lydia, oh Lydia that encyclopidia,
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 said Lydia
{We said Lydia}
La La!

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• marx
• brothers

[shortshu]

Not a bad movie. It came out in 1939. Groucho was 49. Chico and Harpo were in their mid 50's, You can see Chico starting to get heavy.

[Alchymyst11]

These ARE the original lyrics. There are no "unensored" ones. use your wikipedia finger. It is just hard to remember that even the notion of a (completely) tattooed lady was once risque in and of itself.

[LIZZYRULES]

"Not a bad movie"??? That is the most fleeting commentary you could have put for your description or opinion on the movie.

[TheFlyingSeal]

So one of the forums I go too have a rumor going around that this one user was hacked by a person named Lydia. I now see endless topics with jokes about 'Lydia'. I can not stop thinking about the song.

It's amazing.

[WildeNotesMusic]

@TheTubePortal Oh, I always expect it from Groucho. But I don't 'get' the sexual innuendo in a line like "On her back is the Battle of Waterloo" or (even less so) "beside it the wreck of the Hesperus too, and proudly above waves the Red, White, and Blue."

If you can find me a link to the original lyrics, that would be great. Thanks.

[TheTubePortal]

@WildeNotesMusic Yeah, I guess one has to be expecting it in order to detect it. Most church people are usually repressed so they wouldn't be looking for double entendre, at least the naughty kind anyway. I'll try to find a link with the original lyrics for you.

[WildeNotesMusic]

@TheTubePortal I know there's double entendre, but it's still quite subtle compared to what Groucho would often do. I think the movie came out during the "Hays Commission" era, which was the height of American cinema censorship. Anyway, the sexual allusions are subtle enough that I can sing the song for just about any audience, including church groups and senior citizens, with no one seeming the least bit offended.

I'd love to find the original lyrics but wouldn't know how to find them easily

[TheTubePortal]

@WildeNotesMusic The song is loaded with double entendre since most of the tattoos are in hidden places of her anatomy. If you haven't had the opportunity you should look for the lyrics of the original uncensored version I think you'll find that a lot of the song suddenly makes sense :o)

[WildeNotesMusic]

@TheTubePortal Interesting. I never thought of that line as any more double entendre than most of the others, e.g., "For a dime you can see Kankakee or Paree or Washington crossing the Delaware." I never thought of "Andrew Jackson" as a particular anatomical reference, since "Andrew Jackson" is a tattoo on Lydia, not on a guy. But Groucho was known to be quite bawdy when he could get by with it. He even slipped a few not-so-subtle innuendoes past the censors on "You Bet Your Life."

[TheTubePortal]

@WildeNotesMusic It's still quite racy though, even by today's standards. I'm sure most people know what is meant by "When her muscles start relaxin' up the hill comes Andrew Jackson" ;o)

[PrincessAlyssHearts]

I did an English proect on Groucho in the seventh grade and after I had presented, my English teacher looked this song up and played the Muppets version. I was trying to hide under my desk when it played.