ten cents a dance

i work at the palace ballroom

but

gee that palace is cheap;

when i get back to my chilly hall room

i'm much too tired to sleep. i'm one of those lady teachers

a beautiful hostess

you know

the kind the palace features

for only a dime a throw. ten cents a dance

that's what they pay me

gosh

how they weigh me down!

ten cents a dance

pansies and rough guys

tough guys who tear my gown!

seven to midnight i hear drums. loudly the saxophone blows. trumpets are tearing my eardrums. customers crush my toes. sometime i think

i've found my hero

but it's a queer romance. all that you need is a ticket

come on

big boy

ten cents a dance. fighters and sailors and bowlegged tailors

can pay for their ticket and rent me!

butchers and barbers and rats from the harbors

are sweethearts my good luck has sent me. though i've a chorus of elderly beaux

stockings are porous with holes at the toes. i'm here till closing time

dance and be merry

it's only a dime. sometime i think

i've found my hero

but it's a queer romance. all that you need is a ticket. come on

big boy

ten cents a dance.