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 that 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 tearing my eardrums

Customers crush my toes

Sometimes I think I've found my hero

But it's a queer romance

All that you need is a ticket

So come on, big boy

Ten cents a dance

Fighters and sailors

And bowlegged tailors

Can pay for their tickets 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

Sometimes I think I've found my hero

But it's a queer romance

All that you need is a ticket

So come on, big boy

Ten cents a dance