Ziegfeld Girl

Ziegfeld girl
Don't be afraid to bob your hair and dance
Let the butter of the spotlight melt on your arms and pool in the curves and craters of your face
Paint yourself like a peacock with kohl and talc and pigment so they can't help but remember you
Ziegfeld girl
They will try to drag you down with hoots and hollers and whistles
And turned up brows and lips and noses and brooches that cost more than supper with the queen
But you are a star, Ziegfeld girl
As you wear through 2 pairs of shoes a night, the tattered remains left in the alley for cobblers
As you sweat through your garters and fishnets and stockings, leaving a mess for tomorrow morning
As you work under marquee lights and worn rigging for crowds of hundreds
As you pocket your 2 dollars for show in a broken pearl clutch and blot lipstick on calling cards
Ziegfeld girl
There are so many who would kill to be like you
With your straight teeth and your long legs and your shining skirts and your speakeasy swing
Girls who set back clocks and grease the bottom of taps and pour itch powder down the front of leotards
There are men who want to clutch you and women who want to kiss you and children who want to be you
But you are a rock, Ziegfeld girl
Their jealousy will not drown you, their threats will not terrify you and their attitude could never hold a candle to yours
Your lips are redder and your costumes are brighter than the stage you stand on
You will never fall to earth as icarus, you should fly forever
You are a star, Ziegfeld girl