In far Schenectady there lived Miss Jennie Lee,
At ev'ry ball she was the queen,
Was graceful at toe dancing and at ragtime prancing
Was a terpsichorean dream
They said she'd be the rage if she'd go on the stage
And lots of fame her name would gain
So she bought some costumes and a ticket for New York,
Said "Goodbye" and took a train,
A manager she called to see said with an icy stare,
For that old time dancing nowadays the public does not care,
Your costumes may be very fine, that don't cut any ice,
It's not what you wear, its what you don't wear,
Then he gave her this advice.
CHORUS:
You've got to do that new Salome dancing,
if you want to make a hit in a show.
So cut out all that old style ragtime prancing,
With an audience that won't go,
Just wear a sweet smile and a pair of earrings,
And you'll put 'em in a trance,
1) Yell and do some funny falls,
you'll get eighty curtain calls,
When you do that Salome dance.
2) With an oriental pose
in a nickel's worth of clothes,
When you do that Salome dance.
She said Salome's fine, but it don't run for mine,
I'd rather dance some other way,
To dance with out a stocking, "My how very shocking["]
All the folks down home would say
With you I don't agree, you can't discourage me,
And I won't go back to the woods,
As an amateur I'm going to do my act tonight,
Just to show I got the goods,
The house was crowded when they announced "the next is Jenny Lee"
And she says she is a dancer fine, they laughed and said "we'll see,"
When she began "take her away" the crowd commenced to yell,
And this song she heard the gal'ry singing as the hook upon her fell.