12th Street Rag 1919

by James Pitt-Payne, London UK - 25 Oct 2006
2006

In a certain city,
where the girls are cute and pretty,
they have a raggy jazzy jazztime tune.
When you hear that syncopated
jazz created melody you
could dance all morning night and noon,
When the slide trombone and moaning saxophone
begin to play.
It will make you sad,
'twill make you glad
Oh! Boy, what joy
Burn my clothes for I'm in Heaven,
wish I had a million women,
Solomon in all his glory
would have told another story
were he but living here today,
with his thousand wives or more,
a jazzband on some Egypt shore,
he could dance the night and day away.
I will tell you how they dance
That tantalising Twelfth Street Rag.

First you slide and then you glide
then shimmie for a while;
to the left then to the right
"Lame Duck" "Get Over Sal"
Watch your step then pirouette,
fox trot then squeeze your pal
Over you comes stealing such a funny feeling
'till you feel your senses reeling,
tantalizing, hypnotizing, mesmerizing strain.
I can't get enough of it
please play it o'er again;
I could dance for ever to this refrain,
to the Twelfth Street,
oh you Twelfth Street Rag.

First you slide and then you glide
then shimmie for a while;
to the left then to the right
"Lame Duck" "Get Over Sal"
Watch your step then pirouette,
fox trot then squeeze your pal
Over you comes stealing such a funny feeling
'till you feel your senses reeling,
tantalizing, hypnotizing, mesmerizing strain.
I can't get enough of it
please play it o'er again;
I could dance for ever to this refrain,
to the Twelfth Street,
oh you Twelfth Street Rag.

Jazztime music is the rage,
this is a syncopated age,
ev'rybody loves a jazztime tune.
For the music captivating,
sets your heart a palpitating
you just can't make your feet behave.
Ancient youths of sixtyfour,
do steps they never did before,
Father Time is mad,
no one grows old
Oh! Boy, what joy,
put your loving arms around me,
say Babe, ain't you glad you found me,
Cleopatra on the Nile
could vamp right in the latest style,
if she'd only known this ragtime tune;
Old King Cole, a merry soul,
called for his pipe and then his bowl,
and the first jazzband his fiddlers three,
Play, oh play me while I dance
That tantalising Twelfth Street Rag.

First you slide and then you glide
then shimmie for a while;
to the left then to the right
"Lame Duck" "Get Over Sal"
Watch your step then pirouette,
fox trot then squeeze your pal
Over you comes stealing such a funny feeling
'till you feel your senses reeling,
tantalizing, hypnotizing, mesmerizing strain.
I can't get enough of it
please play it o'er again;
I could dance for ever to this refrain,
to the Twelfth Street,
oh you Twelfth Street Rag.

First you slide and then you glide
then shimmie for a while;
to the left then to the right
"Lame Duck" "Get Over Sal"
Watch your step then pirouette,
fox trot then squeeze your pal
Over you comes stealing such a funny feeling
'till you feel your senses reeling,
tantalizing, hypnotizing, mesmerizing strain.
I can't get enough of it
please play it o'er again;
I could dance for ever to this refrain,
to the Twelfth Street,
oh you Twelfth Street Rag.

Soft karaoke
Words
piano
piano
piano
piano
*
12th Street Rag 1919
Music by Euday L.Bowman
Lyrics by James S. Sumner
© MCMXIX by J.W.Jenkins Sons Music Co. Kansas City, Mo
*
sequence & karaoke by James Pitt-Payne, London UK
on Wednesday 25 October 2006 at 11.33am
in association with Doug Grierson
*