[WARNING: This song contains antiquated racial stereotypes. It is presented here for historical and educational purposes only.]
a 1917 jazz drag
words by Jack Frost
music by Clarence M. Jones
The sheet music:
Accompaniment:
Lyrics
1. Old Rufus Rastus Johnson Lee
Was braggin’ bout his fam’ly tree
He said his uncles all were deacons
Down in Tennessee
Said old black mammy Mandy Bly
“I knew your folks in days gone by
And when we’d meet them on the street
We’d look at them and cry”
Chorus
“Oh, the old dirty dozen, the old dirty dozen
Your brothers and cousins, all livin’ like a hive of bees
They all kept a-buzzin’, a-fussin’ and mussin’
There wasn’t a good one in the bunch
Believe me that ain’t no bluff
Guess that’s enuff” (That’s enuff)
2. “Those kids and cousins by the score
were eatin’ and sleepin’ on the floor
And every day you’d see policemen
Knockin’ at the door
And no one ever thought of socks
Their bare feet cut by glass and rocks
It’s sure a fact that they were packed
Like sardines in a box”
Sung here by Vancha March: