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Frank Sinatra - The Lady Is A Tramp

"The Lady Is a Tramp" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms in which it was introduced by former child star Mitzi Green.

This song is a spoof of New York high society and its strict etiquette (the first line of the verse is "I get too hungry for dinner at eight..."). It has become a popular standard.

Explanation

The lyrics are about a woman who has her own priorities in life and who is not interested to play with New York high society stereotypes. Hence she is dismissed as a Tramp.

The original lyrics are more explicit than subsequent versions and portrait dated references to mid '30s New York urban life and culture.

• Fiorello La Guardia was elected mayor of New York Mayor in 1933 and obviously his electoral base was not the Manhattan elite but the middle-class (Italian and German immigrants, Jews, some Democrats and Socialists ...)
• George VI and Queen Elizabeth's coronation was in 1937 and most of Manhattan elite (the people who played with Earls and Barons) was interested in the ceremony in London.
• Mulligan stew, is a dish said to have been prepared by American hobos in camps in the early 1900s.
• Ritz hotel is a New York luxury hotel on Central Park.
• Sardi's is a New York restaurant that opened in 1927 in 234 West 44th Street (between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, where still is).
• Noël Coward was a British actor and director, very popular in '30s. He is known for his sophisticated comedies and influence on American culture.
• Coney Island and the lake in Central Park are popular places for New York mid-class amusements.
• Walter Winchell was an American newspaper and radio gossip commentator.
• Elizabeth Arden built a cosmetics empire in the United States.
• Beaux Arts Ball was held in 1931, in New York, when famous architects dressed up as their buildings.
• Dinner at Eight quote is self-explanatory but also the title of a 1933 movie: a comedy of manners about the life of a high class New York magnate family, inviting at dinner some Peers from England (Lord and Lady Ferncliffe) as a sign of social distinction, but the dinner turned out in disaster.

The lyrics:

I've wined and dined on Mulligan stew

And never wished for turkey

As I hitched and hiked and grifted, 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.

REFRAIN 1

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 crapgames with Barons and Earls

Won't go to Harlem in ermine and pearls

Won'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

Hates California is cold and is damp

That's why the lady is a tramp

REFRAIN 2

I go to Coney-the beach is divine.

I go to ball games-the bleachers are fine.

I follow Winchell and read ev'ry line.

That's why the lady is a tramp.

I like a prizefight that isn't a fake.

I love 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.

REFRAIN 3 (reprise)

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-heigh-ho!

I love La Guardia and think he's a champ.

That' s why the lady is a tramp.

REFRAIN 4 (reprise)

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?