I work at the Palace Ball But gee, that palace is cheap When I get back to my chilly hallroom 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 Pansys and rough guys Tough guys who tear my gown Seven to midnight I hear drums Loudly the saxaphone blows Trumpets are breaking my eardrums! 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 sailors and bow-legged tailors Can pay for a 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 beaus Stockings are porous with holes in the toes I'm there 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 Pansys and rough guys Tough guys who tear my gown Seven to midnight I hear drums Loudly the saxaphone blows Trumpets are breaking my eardrums! 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