[WARNING: This song contains antiquated racial stereotypes. It is presented here for historical and educational purposes only.]
A popular song from 1897.
Words by Dave Reed Jr.
Music by Chas. B. Ward.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
1. Last night de darkies had a jubilee, Mm
Celebratin’ don’t yer see?
Rufe Hawkins wedding anniversary
Poor Rufe most paralized his voice
A tryin’ for to holler over all de noise
Ole parson Green stepped in for a while
An’ near dropped dead to see all de style
De band played up so loud
Dat it made dem coons feel proud
But now an’ then de babies got too frisky
An’ parson yelled out to de crowd
Chorus
Enjoy yourselves
Keep all yer razors in yer inside pocket
Enjoy yourselves
But don’t cause no disgrace
Enjoy yourselves
Gals keep yer hands upon yer chains an’ yer lockets
Jes’ member you is ladies an’ ‘gemmen
An’ represent de colored race
2. De fun began about a half past nine, Mm
When dey all went down to dine
Dere stood a half a dozen jugs of wine
Some fool nig who was black as sin
Forgot all his etiquette and called for gin
As soon as they got through wid de lunch
A low down coon what sat in de bunch
Forgot where he was at
An’ right dar where he sat
Pulled out some dice an’ started dem a rollin’
When parson yelled, “count me in dat”
3. De evenin’ ended in an awful fight, Mm
All dem darkies got so tight
They didn’t know if they was black or white
Tell yer how all de fuss arose
They all made mistakes an’ got de wrong mans clothes
I never saw such fun in my life
For no coon there could pick out his wife
De razors all came out
When parson Green so stout
Awoke wid a start and thought they was a foolin’
An’ like a jap began to shout
Sung here by Fred Feild: