[WARNING: This song contains antiquated racial stereotypes. It is presented here for historical and educational purposes only.]
Introduced in Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic, 1918
Words by Grant Clarke
Music by George W. Meyer
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- No more darkies on the Swanee shore
No more singin’ round the cabin door
Dixie ain’t Dixie now, I vow
In the village all the streets are bare
Doesn’t seem to be a soul down there
It made me blue somehow
I asked Old Mammy Gray
And then I heard her say
Chorus:
“You remember Dancin’ Mose?
Folks all called him “Tickle Toes”
You’ll find him “Over There” in France
Alexander’s Band left old Dixieland
They used to play the “lovin’ blues” for everyone
Now they’re plain’ blues upon a Gatling Gun
Don’t forget “Old Shimme Sam”
Famous boy from Alabam’
He marched away in khaki pants
Instead of pickin’ melons off the vine
They’re pickin’ Germans off the Rhine
You’ll find old Dixieland in France”
- Every evening when the starshells gleam
You’re in Alabama it would seem
You’ll hear the same old coons play tunes
Billy Johnson with his pet banjo
Doesn’t mind it when the shells hit low
He simply sits and croons
The strains of “Over There”
Came floating on the air
Chorus:
“You remember Dancin’ Mose?
Folks all called him “Tickle Toes”
You’ll find him “Over There” in France
Alexander’s Band left old Dixieland
They used to play the “lovin’ blues” for everyone
Now they’re plain’ blues upon a Gatling Gun
Don’t forget “Old Shimme Sam”
Famous boy from Alabam’
He marched away in khaki pants
And with Abe Lincoln in their memory
They’ve gone to fight for Liberty
You’ll find old Dixieland in France”