I just watched Groucho sing "Lydia the Tattooed Lady"

[grasswire]

Turner Classic Movies is doing all the Marx Bros films this evening, and also did an hour of Dick Cavett interviewing Groucho. And Dick asked Groucho to sing, and he sang that delicious song complete with twirls and dance steps and plenty of innuendo.

This is a fine evening. What a treat.

[grasswire]

1. lyrics

Oh Lydia, oh Lydia, say, have you met Lydia?
Lydia The Tattooed Lady.
She has eyes that folks adore so,
and a torso even more so.
Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclo-pidia.
Oh 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.
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.

Oh 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 encyclo-pidia.
Oh Lydia The Queen of them all.
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 is 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.

Here is Grover Whelan unveilin' The Trilon.
Over on the west coast we have Treasure Isle-on.
Here's Nijinsky a-doin' the rhumba.
Here's her social security numba.

La-la-la...la-la-la.
La-la-la...la-la-la.

Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclo-pidia.
Oh Lydia The Champ of them all.
She once swept an Admiral clear 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...)
They said Lydia...
We said Lydia, la, la!


Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg

[grasswire]

3. here a link to a midi

www.whyaduck.com/sounds/midi.htm

[Oeditpus Rex]

2. Where's the damned 'jealous' smilie?

:grr:

Although "At the Circus" was not one of their better films.

[ComerPerro]

4. here's the YouTube video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WB-T0Ill08

[Shakespeare]

5. Two other great renditions of that song can be seen here:

Kermit the Frog on The Muppet Show

Robin Williams in The Fisher King

edited to add: Robin Williams manages to turn his rendition of the song into a sweet, poignant love song in the film. One of my favorite movies.

[ComerPerro]

6. Speaking of Kermit the Frog, check out this clip

from Family Guy, a Roundtable Discussion Group with

Kermit the Frog
Harold Ramis
Ray Romano
Al Michaels


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d255PBZxyvg&NR