Lydia the Tattooed Lady Lydia the Tattooed Lady "Lydia, the Tattooed Lady" is a 1939 song written by Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen. It first appeared in the Marx Brothers movie "At the Circus" (1939) and became one of Groucho Marx's signature tunes. The complex lyrics by Harburg – with clever rhymes such as "Lydia/encyclopedia" and "Amazon/pajamas on" – were inspired by W. S. Gilbert. Harburg made many contemporary references to topical personalities such as Grover Whalen, who opened the 1939 New York World's Fair. Among the items, persons, and scenes tattooed on Lydia's body are the Battle of Waterloo (on her back), "The
Tattooed Lady and ones suited to her individual taste; she sported images of Charlie Chaplin and Charles Lindberg. In this way, Broadbent reflects the tattoo's permanence in American folk culture as an art form steadily gaining recognition. Incidentally, Broadbent's tattoos suggest a deliberate attempt to express oneself through choice rather than imposition or affliction. Broadbent's overt challenge to traditional female behavior also substantiated her tattoo narrative. Gone were the days of having to invent a victim tale to excuse her status as a tattooed lady. In fact, her souvenir postcard bluntly dispelled any mystery surrounding her choice in getting tattooed; "It was