Ladies Of The Road Lyrics

Lyric discussion by gregorykt5 

Cover art for Ladies Of The Road lyrics by King Crimson

Can someone explain the meaning of “Been around but are versed in the truth”?

I do understand both parts of the sentence but what is the "but" for?

@gregorykt5 : "but", here is a linker of contrast. as if for example "I like football but i don´t like hockey" The problem is that from the grammatical point of view should have been : "girls of the road have been around, but are they versed in the truth?