Ten Cents A Dance

by Anita O'Day & Billy May

From the album: Swing Rodgers and Hart

Track 9 of 12 on Swing Rodgers and Hart (1960).

Duration: 2:15

Swing Rodgers and Hart cover art

Lyrics for 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 For only 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. 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. 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.

Listen On

More from Swing Rodgers and Hart

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  2. Little Girl Blue
  3. Falling In Love With Love
  4. Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered
  5. I Could Write A Book
  6. Have You Met Miss Jones
  7. Lover
  8. It Never Entered My Mind
  9. Ten Cents A Dance
  10. I've Got Five Dollars
  11. To Keep My Love Alive
  12. Spring Is Here