CAMPTOWN RACES

"'Camptown Races'", sometimes referred to as '"Camptown Ladies"', is a comic song in broad, stereotyped negro "dialect" by Stephen Foster (1826 – 1864), known as the "father of American music," who was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century.
It was published in 1850 in ''Foster's Plantation Melodies as sung by the Christy & Campbell Minstrels and New Orleans Serenaders, Written Composed and Arranged by Stephen C. Foster'' (Baltimore: F. D. Benteen; New Orleans: W. T. Mayo, 1850). Its official title was "'Gwine to Run All Night'", and is also known as "'De Camptown Races'". The Camptown of Foster's own experience was in Pennsylvania, but a ''"camptown"'', or tent city was a temporary workingmen's accommodation familiar in many parts of the United States, especially along the rapidly expanding railroad network. The rag-tag mix of horses that are racing, and the disorder of the racing conditions at the ramshackle camptown track provide the fun, with the usual unspoken undercurrent of superiority among the entertained hearers.
The present day-version of the Camptown Races, a cross country foot race, is the region's oldest 10 K race and one of the most challenging. It's held every year, the first weekend in September and includes the community's annual Old Home Day celebration.

Contents

Lyrics

References in popular culture

Reference

Lyrics

:De Camptown ladies sing dis song, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
:De Camptown race-track five miles long, Oh, doo-dah day!
:I come down dah wid my hat caved in, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
:I go back home wid a pocket full of tin, Oh, doo-dah day!
:''Gwine to run all night!''
:''Gwine to run all day!''
:''I'll bet my money on de bob-tail nag,''
:''Somebody bet on de bay.''
:De long tail filly and de big black hoss, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
:Dey fly de track and dey both cut across, Oh, doo-dah-day!
:De blind hoss sticken in a big mud hole, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
:Can't touch bottom wid a ten foot pole, Oh, doo-dah-day!
:''Chorus''
:Old muley cow come on to de track, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
:De bob-tail fling her ober his back, Oh, doo-dah-day!
:Den fly along like a rail-road car, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
:Runnin' a race wid a shootin' star, Oh, doo-dah-day!
:''Chorus''
:See dem flyin' on a ten mile heat, Doo-dah doo-dah!
:Round de race track, den repeat, Oh, doo-dah-day!
:I win my money on de bob-tail nag, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
:I keep my money in an old tow-bag, Oh, doo-dah-day!
:''Chorus''

References in popular culture

★ In ''Blazing Saddles'', white railroad bosses attempt to cajole black laborers to sing the song (called "Camptown Ladies" in the movie), but the workers feign ignorance of it.

★ In the Bugs Bunny cartoon ''Fresh Hare'' Bugs, facing a firing squad, is given a last wish by Mountie Elmer Fudd. Bugs, "wishes" he was in Dixie, singing a brief snippet of that song, before breaking into a full blown rendition of "Camptown Races" complete with Elmer and the other mounties accompanying him in blackface. This scene is generally edited out when shown on television.

★ Looney Tunes character Foghorn Leghorn often hummed or sang varriations of the song in many of his shorts.

★ In the 1988 film ''Short Circuit 2'', the main character - a sentient robot named Johnny 5 - is tricked into digging a tunnel under a main road in order facilitate a burglary. As he digs, Johnny 5 sings "Camptown robots sing this song...".

★ On a 2000 Episode of ''Oz'', Unit Manager Tim McManus sings the song at the funeral of an African American staff member, prompting the African American warden Leo Glynn to fire him immediately.

★ The Squirrel Nut Zippers song "The Ghost of Stephen Foster" appropriately mentions "Camptown Races" and uses some of its lyrical structure.

★ The Danish pop band Cartoons recorded a version of the song under the title "Doodah!", which reached the UK Top Ten charts, and even appearing on a game called Dance Maniax

★ The song has been referenced several times in ''The Simpsons''.

★ In Nickelodeon's ''Hey Arnold!'', many references were made to the song. Most notably, in the episode "Fighting Families", the host's question is, "Name one song by Stephen Foster." Grandma starts singing the song out of nowhere, apparently not paying attention to the question, and they win the round.

★ The song is sung a few times in another Cartoon Network show, ''Camp Lazlo'', including an original rendition by a burping choir (from "Burpless Bean") and another version entitled "Go-Kart Racers" (from "Racing Slicks").

Reference

★ University of Toronto: lyrics and information about the song