Song lyrics The Lady is a Tramp, (1937). Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Lorenzo Hart. Written for the musical Babes in Arms.
The Lady is a Tramp is a classic song. It deals with the singer, rejecting the hoi polloi of the upper crust. She rejects their values for traditional, middle class values and living.
[Verse]
I’ve wined and dined on mulligan stew
And never wished for turkey
As I hitched and hiked and drifted, too
From Maine to Albuquerque
Alas, I missed the Beaux Arts Ball
And what is twice as sad
I was never at a party where they honored Noel Ca’ad
But social circles spin too fast for me
My hobohemia is the place to be
[Chorus]
I get too hungry for dinner at eight
I like the theater, but never come late
I never bother with people I hate
That’s why the lady is a tramp
I don’t like crap games with barons and earls
Won’t go to Harlem in ermine and pearls
Don’t dish the dirt with the rest of the girls
That’s why the lady is a tramp
I like the free, fresh wind in my hair
Life without care
I’m broke
It’s oke
Hate California, it’s cold and it’s damp
That’s why the lady is a tramp
[Chorus 2]
I go to Coney, the beach is divine
I go to ballgames, the bleachers are fine
I follow Winchell and read every line
That’s why the lady is a tramp
I like a prizefight that isn’t a fake
I like the rowing on Central Park Lake
I go to opera and stay wide awake
That’s why the lady is a tramp
I like the green grass under my shoes
What can I lose?
I’m flat
That’s that
I’m all alone when I lower my lamp
That’s why the lady is a tramp
[Chorus 3]
Don’t know the reason for cocktails at five
I don’t like flying. I’m glad I’m alive
I crave affection, but not when I drive
That’s why the lady is a tramp
Folks go to London and leave me behind
I’ll miss the crowning, Queen Mary won’t mind
I don’t play Scarlett in Gone With the Wind
That’s why the lady is a tramp
I like to hang my hat where I please
Sail with the breeze
No dough?
Hi-ho!
I love LaGuardia and think he’s a champ
That’s why the lady is a tramp
[Chorus 4
Girls get massages, they cry and they moan
Tell Lizzie Arden to leave me alone
I’m not so hot, but my shape is my own
That’s why the lady is a tramp
The food at Sardi’s is perfect, no doubt
I wouldn’t know what the Ritz is about
I drop a nickel and coffee comes out
That’s why the lady is a tramp
I like the sweet, fresh rain in my face
Diamonds and lace
No got
So what?
For Robert Taylor I whistle and stamp
That’s why the lady is a tramp