last
updated 20070617
(This
version of the old American 'classic' is a favourite with folk-dance
groups, due to the very popular couple-dance that goes with it.)
Lyrics :
Verse 1:
Away down yonder in the state of
Arkansas
where my great-grandpa met my
great-grandma,
they drink apple cider and they
get on a jag
and they dance all night to the
Salty Dog Rag.
They play an old fiddle like you
never heard before.
They play the only tune that they
ever did know.
It's a ragtime ditty and the
rhythm don't drag,
now here's the way you dance to
the Salty Dog Rag:
Refrain:
One foot front, drag it back,
then you start to ball the jack.
You shake and you break and then
you sag,
if your partner zigs you're
supposed to zag.
Your heart is light, you tap your
feet
in rhythm with that ragtime beat.
(Just) pack up your troubles in
your old kit bag
and dance all night to the Salty
Dog Rag.
Verse 2:
Away down South 'neath the old
Southern moon
the possum's up a tree and the
hounds treed a coon.
They'll hitch up the buggy to a
broken down nag
and go out dancing to the Salty
Dog Rag.
They tune up the fiddle and they
rosin up the bow.
They strike a C chord on the old
banjo
and holler hang on 'cause we ain't
gonna drag
now here's the way you dance to
the Salty Dog Rag:
<Refrain>
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