A Dead Fly Coon 1898 'A Stranger in New York'

James Pitt-Payne, London UK - 13 Sep 2004

Now I'm a colored gentleman
as you can plainly see,
though some folks call me nigger,
yes! but that don't bother me,
I know I'm not a white man,
tho' I hope to change some day,
and when the white folks shout
who is dat coon now
dis is what I say:

My name's Pete Johnson,
I can do a coon cake walk,
My name's Pete Johnson,
and my education talks,
My style just shows you that
I don't go around with gawks,
for I'm no loon,
but a dead fly coon
and my names's Pete Johnson

My name's Pete Johnson,
I can do a coon cake walk,
My name's Pete Johnson,
and my education talks,
My style just shows you that
I don't go around with gawks,
for I'm no loon,
but a dead fly coon
and my names's Pete Johnson..

Now when I'm walking on Broadway
in the day time or the night,
and the wenches they catch sight of me
their color all turns white,
and when I do approach them
in that coon like cake walk style,
then they shout out
nigger what's your name,
then I shout with a smile:

My name's Pete Johnson,
I can do a coon cake walk,
My name's Pete Johnson,
and my education talks,
My style just shows you that
I don't go around with gawks,
for I'm no loon,
but a dead fly coon
and my names's Pete Johnson

My name's Pete Johnson,
I can do a coon cake walk,
My name's Pete Johnson,
and my education talks,
My style just shows you that
I don't go around with gawks,
for I'm no loon,
but a dead fly coon
and my names's Pete Johnson..

You've heard of niggers done turn white
but none you never saw,
But I'm the nig that licked the Spaniard
on the upper floor,
I couldn't stand to see
his nationality about,
so I hit him and I turned him white
and then commenced to shout:

My name's Pete Johnson,
I can do a coon cake walk,
My name's Pete Johnson,
and my education talks,
My style just shows you that
I don't go around with gawks,
for I'm no loon,
but a dead fly coon
and my names's Pete Johnson

My name's Pete Johnson,
I can do a coon cake walk,
My name's Pete Johnson,
and my education talks,
My style just shows you that
I don't go around with gawks,
for I'm no loon,
but a dead fly coon
and my names's Pete Johnson..

Soft karaoke
Words
piano 1
piano 2
piano 3
piano 4
lyric
pizz str bass
*
A Dead Fly Coon 1898
Words and Music by Harry Rogers
of Hoyt's "A Stranger in New York."
© 1898 by The Herald Sqr. Music Co., 1368-1370 Broadway
*
sequence and karaoke by James Pitt-Payne, London UK
on Monday 13 September 2004 at 19.15
in association with Doug Grierson
*