[Warning: This song contains the N-word. No hatred is intended. It is presented in its original form as part of music history.]
a 1896 popular song
words by May Irwin
music by George M. Cohan
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The sheet music:
Accompaniment:
Lyrics
1. Down in Hot Tamale Alley
Lives a yaller gal named Sally
She’s the warmest member
In the colored neighborhood
Sally is the pink of neatness
She’s a little lump of sweetness
I’m her man, the whole coon clan
Would carve me if they could
Talk about your jealous niggers
How they’d like to pull the triggers
Of the guns they carry
And a target make of me
Just because I’ve won this baby
And some day, I’ll wed her, maybe
When we go out for a stroll
We are a sight to see
Chorus
There’s no nigger, cutting any figure
When I go out for a promenade with Sally
There’s a lot of wenches darker
But you bet there’s not a marker
To my baby, down in Hot Tamale Alley
2. Every cake walk, why we win it
No one’s in it, for a minute
When I link her arm
And walk with Hot Tamale Sal
To dis coon she is a blessing
And she doesn’t keep me guessing
For I know that I’m her beau
And she’s my only gal
She’s the prize, and I have won it
Every nigger tips his bonnet
When we pass, or else
I flourish up my razor blade
Now by Darktown we’re respected
Swellest couple we’re elected
Babies mighty hot ‘twould take
To put us in the shade
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Sung here by Fred Feild: