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 women did not hesitate to justify their reasoning for becoming tattooed performers. In a revealing 1884 "Sedalia Weekly Bazoo" interview, tattooed lady Mary Baum shared a candid and similar start up story when asked where she got the idea to acquire tattoos from; "I don't know exactly," said the varicolored lady. "I saw the other tattooed ladies in museums, and thought it would be nice." It is important to note that while tattooed women did indeed earn substantially more than their working-class male counterparts, their salary was not necessarily steady. A tattooed woman's earnings depended on the seasons, popularity and