A 1908 popular song.
Words and music by Kenneth S. Clark.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
1. A woman’s dissipations
Years ago were mighty tame
For she ate so much candy
She got sugar on the brain
Today a man says,
“May I smoke a cigarette or two?”
But she says, “You may not
Unless you let me smoke with you”
CHORUS
She’ll take a puff, puff, puff
Like old Egyptian kings
She’s great at blowing rings
And all those fancy things
A card case full of cigarettes
Is her great bluff
For perfect ladies smoke like Hades
Puff, puff, puff
2. In olden times it was a crime
For girls to wear false hair
But now-a-days they wear enough
To stuff a parlor chair
This style is even good for Grandma
Poor bald-headed saint
For she can make her cranium look
Just like what it ain’t
CHORUS
She’ll take a puff, puff, puff
Of someone else’s hair
On spots that are quite bare
To help keep out the air
But if there comes a windstorm
That is strong and rough
She’ll see the finish of that spinach
Puff, puff, puff
3. A woman’s features now-a-days
Are often rearranged
If she dislikes the face she owns
She goes and has it changed
They scrape the skin right off her face
‘Tis pleasant, I don’t think
And then they re-enamel it
Just like the kitchen sink
CHORUS
She’ll take a puff, puff, puff
A powder puff I mean
Some dabs of paint between
And she’s a peacherine
But when she goes in bathing
You can call her bluff
A wave soon brushes off her blushes
Puff, puff, puff