Origins: The Lady Red, Tune: The Streets of Cairo

Subject: Origins: The Lady Red, Tune: The Streets of Cairo
From: and e
Date: 29 Jan 25 - 11:48 AM

The Lady In Red
Tune - The Streets of Cairo

The lady in red
Makes her living on a bed
For fifteen cents she'll do it once
For twenty-five cents she'll do it twice
Here I stand with a nickel in my hand
Buddy can you spare a dime?

I heard the "Lady in Red" from the singing of Dr. Shelly Posen --
who is currently a fine, fine singer with the group Finest Kind
and this was at a what turned out to be a bawdy song night at my
kaylee house in Edinburgh, Scotland about 1968. That was the same
night Arthur Argo sang "Torn-a-Magoon". We herd from Martin McCarthy,
and Roy Williamson, and Hamish Henderson. A very good night for singing.

December 19, 2004. Transcribed from the singing of Abby Sale.


Download here: https://ia803402.us.archive.org/0/items/jack_horntip_collection_field_recordings/1104%20The%20Lady%20In%20Red%20%5BAka%20The%20Lady%20In%20Bed%5D.mp3

Subject: RE: Origins: The Lady Red, Tune: The Streets of Cairo
From: and e
Date: 29 Jan 25 - 02:43 PM

THE LADY IN RED

Oh, the lady in red
Makes her living on a bed.
Fifteen cents will do it nice,
Twenty-five cents will do it twice
And here I stand
with a nickel in my hand.
Brother-
Can you spare a dime?

1950s. Unofficial College Song Boook. p.5. [undated],
[No place], internal evidence of association
with the University of Wisconsin.


See here: https://archive.org/details/1950s-the-unofficial-college-song-book-university-of-wisconsin/page/5/mode/1up?q=in+red

Subject: RE: Origins: The Lady Red, Tune: The Streets of Cairo
From: and e
Date: 29 Jan 25 - 03:02 PM

C. To avoid confusion, it should be noted that another
satirical college songs exists, also entitled "The Lady
in Red (II)." Sometimes "The Lady in Bed," given here
as sung by a college girl, age twenty, in Ithica, New York,
1946:

Oh! the lady in red, makes her living in bed,
For fifteen cents she does it nice,
For twenty-five cents she'll do it twice.
Now here I stand with a nickel in my hand--
Brother, can, you, spare, a, dime?--
Or twenty cents!?

Reuss, p. 291, mentions this song in a footnote but does not quote it.
The Indiana University Folklore Archive held ten texts
of this in 1963, all but one collected from girls;
the one from Miss Zedonna Horr, East Lansing, Michigan,
1947, being the closest to the Ithaca text above, and the
only other one having the final tag.

1992. Unprintable Ozark Folksongs and Folklore., p.246-247.

See online: https://archive.org/details/unprintableozark0000rand/page/246/mode/1up?q=%22lady+in+red%22

Subject: RE: Origins: The Lady Red, Tune: The Streets of Cairo
From: Lighter
Date: 29 Jan 25 - 06:46 PM

Harburg and Gorney's "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime," dates from 1932.

Subject: ADD:The Streets of Cairo(Sol Bloom/James Thornton)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 30 Jan 25 - 01:09 AM

And here's "The Streets of Cairo" by Art Hickman, 2014:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGgaMRE7dpM

This is the original 1895 recording of the song "The Streets of Cairo or the Poor Little Country Maid" by Sol Bloom and James Thornton."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A5yJ5Z2Ezw

This is the original 1895 recording of the song "The Streets of Cairo or the Poor Little Country Maid" by Sol Bloom and James Thornton. The music and lyrics are all in the public domain. I recently learned that Sony is in possession of the rights for this recording. This YouTube posting has a slight speed adjustment from the previously posted version. After I sent the recording I found to Barrett Hansen (aka Dr. Demento) he noted that the speed sounded fast. He adjusted it by ear until he found what sounded most natural. The recording as I had sent it to him was in F#m, but he informed me that old Berliner records were often recorded at a lower speed. After he adjusted it, the pitch was now in Em. Not only does it sound much more natural, but it agrees with the original published sheet music (which was printed in E minor) and it brings the song into a better range for a baritone voice (as Quinn is often described as a baritone).

Dan W. Quinn recorded this song on at least these two occasions:

Berliner 171-Z, 11/3/1895.
Breliner 171-ns 4/17/1896 (Philadelphia)

This is the first, recorded on November 3, 1895.

You can hear my personal recording of the song at    • "The Streets of Cairo or the Poor Lit...

Lyrics:
I will sing you a song, and it won't be very long
'Bout a maiden sweet, and she never would do wrong.
Ev'ryone said she was pretty. she was not long in the city.
All alone, oh, what a pity, poor little maid.

She never saw the streets of Cairo.
On the Midway she had never strayed;
She never saw the kutchy-kutchy,
Poor little country maid.

She was engaged as a picture for to pose,
To appear each night in abbreviated clothes.
All the dudes were in a flurry, for to catch her they did hurry,
One who caught her now is sorry, poor little maid.

She was much fairer far than Trilby,
Lots of more men sorry will be,
If they don't try to keep away from
This poor little country maid.

She never saw the streets of Cairo.
On the Midway she had never strayed;
She never saw the kutchy-kutchy,
Poor little country maid.


Gee, the melody sounds like "The Girls in France (wear tissue paper pants)"

Subject: RE: Origins: The Lady Red, Tune: The Streets of Cairo
From: GUEST,Kegan Mahon
Date: 30 Jan 25 - 02:39 AM

Are we possibly able to get a hold of the Demento recording? I've always liked this song after hearing it by Dan Quinn!