A true gem written for the minstrel stage in 1850
Words and music by Stephen C. Foster
Foster loved to write for the minstrels. Here we have solo voice with group interjections. Wild exaggeration, vivid imagery, rough charm, dialect verses, non-sense.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment:
Lyrics
- De Camptown ladies sing dis song, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
De Camptown race track five miles long, Oh! doo-day-day!
I come down dah wid my hat caved in, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
I go back home wid a pocket full of tin, Oh! doo-day-day!
Chorus
Gwine to run all night!
Gwine to run all day!
I’ll bet my money on de bobtail nag
Somebody bet on de bay
- De long tail filly and de big black hoss, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
Dey fly de track and dey both cut across, Oh! doo-day-day!
De blind hoss sticken in a big mud hole, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
Can’t touch bottom wid a ten foot pole, Oh! doo-day-day! - Old muley cow come on to de track, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
De bob-tail fling her ober his back, Oh! doo-day-day!
Den fly along like a railroad car, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
Runnin’ a race wid a shootin’ star, Oh! doo-day-day! - See dem flyin’ on a ten mile heat, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
Round de race track, den repeat, Oh! doo-day-day!
I win my money on de bob-tail nag, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
I keep my money in an old tow bag, Oh! doo-day-day!
Sung here by Fred Feild: