Lydia The Tattooed Lady 
Music by Harold Arlen 
Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg 

As sung by J. Cheever Loophole (Groucho Marx) in "At the Circus" 

Note: MP2 and WAV versions of this song can be found at: 
http://mems.ee.cornell.edu/~mbw/lydia.html 

Transcription and any errors by jwblair@ix.netcom.com 

(Intro dialog) 
Chico: Folks, I wanna you should meet my pal, 
       my *best* friend. (What's your name again?) 

Groucho: Loophole. 

Chico: Glad to know ya. 

Groucho: It's your pleasure. 

Ah this meeting brings back memories-- 
childhood days! lemonade!! romance! 

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. 


(ad lib sung/spoken) 
She was the most glorious creature under the sun. 
Weiss(?)!, DuBarry(?)! Garbo! Rolled into one. 

Ahhhhh... 


C 
Lydia, oh Lydia, say, have you met Lydia? 
                   G 
Lydia the tattooed lady 
F       C         F       C 
She has eyes that folks adore so 
F     Dm    F    Dm 
And a torso even more so 
C 
Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclo-pidia 
                          F 
Oh Lydia, the queen of tattoo 
       Dm 
On her back is the Battle of Waterloo 
F 
Beside it the Wreck of the Hesperus, too 
    C                       F 
And proudly above waves the red, white and blue 

        C       G        C 
You can learn a lot from Lydia 

C 
(la la la, la la la) 
C 
(la la la, la la la) 

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

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

Eb 
(la la la, la la la) 
C 
(la la la, la la la) 

C 
Ah Lydia, oh Lydia, say, have you met Lydia? 
                      G 
Oh Lydia the tattooed lady 
F        C       F     C 
When her muscles start relaxin' 
F      Dm         F      Dm 
Up the hill comes Andrew Jackson 
C 
Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclo-pidia 
                            F 
Oh Lydia, the queen of them all 
    Dm 
For two bits she will do a mazurka in jazz 
       F 
With a view of Niagara that nobody has 
    C                       F 
And on a clear day, you can see Alcatraz 
        C       G        C 
You can learn a lot from Lydia 

C 
(la la la, la la la) 
Eb 
(la la la, la la la) 

Eb 
Come along and see Buffalo Bill with his lasso 
                                  Bb 
Just a little classic by Mendel Picasso 

Here is Captain Spaulding exploring the Amazon 
                           Eb 
Here's Godiva but with her pajamas on 

Eb 
(la la la, la la la) 
Eb 
(la la la, la la la) 

Eb 
Here is Grover Whelan unveilin' the Tri-lon 
                                        Bb 
Over on the west coast we have Treasure Isle-on 

Here's Nijinski a-doin' the rumba 
                           Eb 
Here's her social security numbah 

Eb 
(Whistling instead of singing la la la...) 
C 
(Whistling instead of singing la la la...) 

C 
Ah Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclo-pidia 
                            F 
Oh Lydia, the champ of them all 
    Dm 
She once swept an admiral clear off his feet 
    F 
The ships on her hips made his heart skip a beat 
    C                        F 
And now the old boy's in command of the fleet 
       C        G       C 
For he went and married Lydia 

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