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 At exactly 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 breaking 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 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 breaking 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