Ten Cents A Dance
Ruth Etting Lyrics
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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
At exactly 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 breaking 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
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 breaking 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
The song, Ten Cents a Dance by Ruth Etting, tells the story of a woman who works as a hostess and dance teacher at the Palace Ballroom. She laments about her job and the difficult men she encounters every night, who tear her gown and crush her toes. Despite this, she continues to dance and entertain them for only 10 cents per dance. The lyricist beautifully captures the irony of her situation and how her work takes a toll on her body and spirit.
The song also highlights the social and economic conditions of the time when women were paid lower than men and were subjected to rough treatment. The lady in question is aware of her job’s limitations, but she needs the money to survive. The lyricist speaks to the audience about how unfortunate it is, that even if she thinks she has found her hero, it is a "queer romance". This highlights the power imbalance in the men and women's relationships in that era.
Overall, Ten Cents a Dance showcases the plight of women in society, their economic marginalization, and the lack of options available to them. The song was a hit when it was released in 1930 and remains popular today, as it continues to reflect the struggles that women face in our society.
Line by Line Meaning
I work at the Palace Ballroom
I am employed at the Palace Ballroom
But, gee, that Palace is cheap
But the Palace Ballroom is not an expensive place
When I get back to my chilly hall room
When I return to my cold rented room
I'm much too tired to sleep
I'm so exhausted that I can't even sleep
I'm one of those lady teachers
I'm one of the female instructors/hosts
A beautiful hostess, you know
A charming and attractive entertainer, as you are well aware
The kind the Palace features
The type of hostess that Palace Ballroom provides
At exactly a dime a throw
At precisely ten cents per dance
Ten cents a dance
Ten cents is the amount that I earn per dance
That's what they pay me
That's the payment that I receive
Gosh, how they weigh me down
Gosh, how they burden me
Pansies and rough guys
Soft and tough guys alike
Tough guys who tear my gown
Rough men who sometimes tear my dress
Seven to midnight I hear drums
From seven PM until midnight, I hear the sound of drums
Loudly the saxophone blows
The saxophone blares loudly
Trumpets are breaking my eardrums
The trumpets are so loud that they hurt my ears
Customers crush my toes
Customers often step on my toes
Sometime I think I've found my hero
Sometimes I think I have found true love
But it's a queer romance
But it's a strange and unconventional love affair
All that you need is a ticket
All you need is a ticket to dance with me
Come on, big boy, ten cents a dance
So come on, big boy, and dance with me for just ten cents
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@krystinamorrill8885
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
One that the palace features, at exactly 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 ear-drums, customers crush my toes.
Sometimes 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 sailers and bow-legged tailors
Can pay for their tickets & rent me
Butchers and barbers and rats from the harbor
Are sweethearts my good luck has sent me
Thought I've a chorus of elderly bows
Stockings are porous with holes at the toes
I'm here till closing time
Dance and be merry it's only a dime
Sometimes I think, I've found my hero
But it's a queer romance
All that you need is a ticket.
Come on, come on big boy, ten cents a dance.
@InchonDM
This is an interesting song. While it could very easily be taken as, uh, euphemistic, as pointed out by Stuart Wray in one of the other comment chains, this song is actually about a very real phenomenon that is exactly what it's talking about.
"Taxi-dancing" was a phenomenon in the early 20th century, when public dancing was a much larger social element than it is today. Dance halls -- establishments specifically for dancing -- had been around for a long time, but late in the 19th century some of them started to offer patrons dances with servers or employees for an additional fee.
While we might associate this today with loners or social isolates, in those days this was especially appealing to traveling men who, even if they had a loved one elsewhere, might be away from them for a long time due to how long travel took in those days, or might not have one at all for the same reason. The song actually lists a bunch of these!
-"Fighters" (traveling circuit prizefighters)
-Sailors
-"Bowlegged tailors" (You get bowlegs from extensive horse riding, your legs curving around the horse you're sitting on, so this would imply a traveling tailor)
-Butchers
-Barbers (Still often a traveling profession in those days)
-"Rats from the harbors" (Any of the other myriad professions or itinerants who hang around boats)
-"Elderly beaux" (Old men who have outlived their wives or never married in the first place)
As a result, by the 1930s, the role of dancer here had become a full profession, known as a "taxi-dancer" because, like a taxi, the cost depended on how long you danced. This was typically a job held by young and usually single women, often from separated families (according to the one significant study done on the phenomenon in 1932), and it was not well-regarded due to being perceived as seedy (as the song shows, it's pretty easy to mentally jump from "dancing" to other intimate activities).
It was also a grueling job -- the singer in the song is on her feet and moving around largely nonstop for five hours with a live band blaring all the while, and a fair number of dances in those days were fast. She's also got to be charming and individual with God knows how many people per night. No wonder she winds up "much too tired to sleep" -- you can easily believe just listening to her that she's about to pass out on her feet.
If what I'm describing sounds familiar to you, incidentally, especially if you've played the Yakuza games, then it should! While ticket-per-dance has basically died off in the USA, it's still a phenomenon in a lot of places overseas, and has also evolved in places -- including Japan -- into the concept of a full-on "hostess", where the emphasis is on the social experience that dancing facilitated.
@garygramm6533
Thank you Bioshock 2. What a fabulous song. 'Customers crush my toes...'
@-zSoloSz-
one of the best trilogy of games ive played. all the music just worked
@jacksonbarrett549
Masterpiece !
@freddyd2141
oh hell yeah
@hwanjung8230
@8YourFaceMySack8 TTV Playing Bioshock2 Awesome game so far
@-zSoloSz-
@Hwan Jung NICE! the first 2 are really good. would love them top make another one set in rapture.
@genevievel5309
A voice full of tears.
@hugokelvin6048
Hi, how are you doing today?
@Snerklefjord201
I don't care if i found this from bioshock 2, this is good
@jimthompson606
Her diction is so good. You can understand every word.