Tattooed Lady, The

DESCRIPTION: "I paid a (franc/bob/shilling) to see a fair tattooed lady...." The rest of the song describes the various sights to be seen on the lady's skin. These are generally localized (e.g. in Australia they see the ANZAC logo), ending with "my home in (wherever)"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Shay-BarroomBallads/PiousFriendsDrunkenCompanions)
KEYWORDS: nonballad parody humorous
FOUND IN: Australia US Britain(England(North))
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Tawney-GreyFunnelLines-RoyalNavy, p. 136, "My Girl From Battersea" (1 text, tune referenced)
Fahey-Eureka-SongsThatMadeAustralia, pp. 230-231, "The Tattooed Lady" (1 text, 1 tune)
Shay-BarroomBallads/PiousFriendsDrunkenCompanions, p. 59, "That Tattooed French Lady" (1 text)
Spaeth-ReadEmAndWeep, p. 221, "The Tattooed Lady" (1 text)
Morgan/Green-RugbySongs, pp.144-145, "The Tattoed Lady" (1 text)
Arthur-WhenThisBloodyWarIsOver, p. 65, "Fray Marie" (1 text, tune referenced)
Roud #9622
NOTES [211 words]: Listed as a parody on "My Home in Tennessee," and the American versions seem to support that claim. The Australian version, however, could have picked up its tune from "Les Darcy." In Tawney-GreyFunnelLines-RoyalNavy's version, the singer doesn't go to see the girl; she is "my girl from Battersea." But most of the rest is the same, so I've lumped them.
Green's version is even more peculiar; it starts with the standard Tattoed Lady, then in the middle of a verse (as marked), it breaks into something that says, "How I loves her, how I loves her, My mother-in-law." It seems likely that two songs have been combined, but the second song is not something I've seen, so I haven't given it a separate listing.
Arthur-WhenThisBloodyWarIsOver's version is yet again different; the whole plot is the same, and it has the girl from Battersea, but it takes place "Way down in Fray Marie." Arthur explains this as a mispronunciation of the French village of Framaries. Google Maps, however, spells the name "Frameries," and puts it in Belgium, though very near France; if you draw a line from Brussels to Mons, and extend it to the French border, Frameries is about half way between Mons and the border. It looks like it would have been a hot spot in both World Wars. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.6
File: FaE230

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