My trade was old when the world was new, Ere the pyramids rose by the
Men quitted their wives, and gave me their goods For the warmth of my kiss, and my smile.
For never was wife who could hold her man By the honeymoon's
Did I veil mine eyes and beckon to him, God's truth, and 'tis you who know.
My trade was old when the world was new, Long ere Caesar ruled in Rome,
To spend their gold in a harlot's cell Patricians quitted home.
And high born dames since the world began Have learned to sit and to
And to patiently wait for their lords to leave The woman that you pass by.
I'm only a pawn in the game called life, Yet I take what you never could hold;
I garner the kisses you'd barter life for And with them,
I gather your gold.
I garner the best of your manhood's prime Then quit them when shattered in health;
I bring to heel the ones that you love And smiling I shear them of wealth.
To garner the wealth that you hold in store I must keep me surpassing fair,
For the life that I lead is an open book And the game that I deal is square.
Stop--think of the maids and wives you know As you drift thru life's subtle game--How many are dealing as straight as I? How many can say the same?
You give your all, and you slave your life In a struggle to hold one man;
You think you're paid if he call you wife And be true to you for a span.
You keep his house and you bear his child And you walk with your head held
But most of his love, and his kisses go To the woman that you pass by.
The favors you give,
I sell for gold, And men prize what costs them high;
You never will learn that love goes out With the tear in a woman's eye;
That the patient drudge who sits at home And learns to save and to
Can never hold the light of love But is doomed to lose in the end.
So I follow the old dishonored trade, Bedecked in garments fine,
And the cream of the earth is saved for me In raiment and food and wine.
And life to me is a merry game Tho, sometimes,
I weep and sigh,
For deep down in your heart, do you envy me The woman that you pass by?
