Lydia the Tattooed Lady Stock Exchange by commandeering a microphone and singing the song before telling jokes for 15 minutes, during which time traders suspended their work to watch him perform. 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,
Tattooed Lady "Roanoke Daily" also provides insight into 'smoke and mirrors' aspect of work as a tattooed lady. Referring to this unknown tattooed woman's story as a harmless fairytale reveals an awareness that Victorians held. Many knew the falsehood of these captivity stories, yet gladly spent their money to hear them for the sake of entertainment, as well as a chance to satiate their curiosity to see the female body in an uncharacteristic form. In this way, working-class tattooed ladies knowingly tapped into a market that turned the tables on their high-class counterparts by exploiting their gaze for sky-high prices. Other working-class