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 sun.
Thaïs!, DuBarry! Garbo! Rolled into one.
Ahhhhh...

Lydia, oh Lydia, say, have you met Lydia,
Lydia the tattooed lady?
She has eyes that men adore so
And a torso even more so.
Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclopedia,
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)

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)

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 encyclopedia,
Lydia, the queen of tattoo.
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's 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)

Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclopedia,
Lydia, the queen of them all.
She once swept an admiral clean 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
I said Lydia
He said Lydia
Ole!