She gets too hungry for dinner at eight
She likes the theatre and never comes late
She never bothers with people she hates
That's why the lady is a tramp
Doesn't like crapgames with barons or earls
Won't go to Harlem in ermine and pearls
Won't dish the dirt with the rest of the girls
That's why the lady is a tramp
She like the free fresh wind in her hair, life without care
She's broke and it's oke
Hates California, it's cold and it's damp
That's why the lady is a tramp
She gets too hungry to wait for dinner at eight
She loves the theatre, but never comes late
She'd never bother with people she'd hate
That's why the lady is a tramp
She'll have no crapgames with sharpies and frogs
And she won't go to Harlem in Lincolns or Fords
And she won't dish the dirt with the rest of the broads
That's why the lady is a tramp
She loves the free fresh wind in her hair, life without care. She's broke but it's oke
Hates California, it's so cold and so damp
That's why the lady. that's why the lady
That's why the lady is a tramp
The Lady is a Tramp
The song's origins
1937
A Rodger and Hart's showtune
Won't go to Harlem in ermine and pearls
Won't dish the dirt with the rest of the girls
Pokes fun at 1930s New York high life
Sinatra's version
- Shorter
- Variations on chorus
- 1950s
Voice
- Irony
- Praising a high class woman who doesn't live up to her stereotypes
Satirizes high-class living
Rhyme scheme varies a little as the song progresses
Describes a woman with her own priorities
Audience
First two stanzas are regular- AAAB, CCCB
Every verse ends in "That's why the lady is a tramp"
Rhyme
Imagery
Invokes images of glamour and high living
Won't go to Harlem in ermine and pearls
Irony
The song uses irony to praise a woman with her priorities in line
"Tramp"...
..."crapgames"...
Words, allusions and comparisons
..."sharpies and frogs"...
Allusions
Suggests that women of high society live by silly rules...
Eating dinner late
"She gets too hungry for dinner at eight
She likes the theatre and never comes late
She never bothers with people she hates"
Being "fashionably late"
Bothering with people they hate
Paraphrased
She'll have no crapgames with sharpies and frogs
And she won't go to Harlem in Lincolns or Fords
And she won't dish the dirt with the rest of the broads
That's why the lady is a tramp
She won't play boring card games people who are rude and cheat
She won't show off her expensive cars in a poor part of town
She won't gossip with the other fancy ladies
That's why she's regarded as a crude woman
Theme
This lady is awesome even though her peers call her a tramp, because she doesn't subscribe to society's material ways, and is herself even when that's not what's "in".
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=frank%20sinatra%20the%20lady%20is%20a%20tramp%20youtube&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D_VJY97l0jVA&ei=ufFWU9bINMydyASm6IHwCA&usg=AFQjCNGa_yCTb87V9B7Ffcx6PbUG58JWXA&bvm=bv.65177938,d.aWw&cad=rjt
References
- Sinatra, N. (2005) "The Lady is a Tramp" from http://sinatrafamily.com/forum/frank-sinatra-8/can-someone-explain-lyrics-lady-tramp-10750/
- Burke, S. (2008) "The Lady is a Tramp" from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/franksinatra/theladyisatramp.html