bg190903_r
Hear Marion Harris sing “Jazz Baby” here.
Written in 1919 by Blanche Merrill and M.K. Jerome
Lyrics:
Jazz Baby
My daddy was a rag-time trombone player.
My mammy was a rag-time cabaret-er.
They met one day at a tango tea.
There was a syncopated wedding
And then came me.
Folks think the way I walk is a fad,
But it’s just a birthday present from my mammy and dad.
‘Cause I’m a Jazz Baby.
I wanna be jazzin’ all the time.
There’s something in the tone of a saxophone
That makes me do a little wiggle all my own.
‘Cause I’m a Jazz Baby,
Full of jazzbo harmony.
Ya’ know, that Walk the Dog and Ball the Jack
That cause all the talk,
Well, that’s just a copy of the way I nat’chally walk.
‘Cause I’m a Jazz Baby
Little jazz baby that’s me.
Rocked to sleep while the cradle went to and fro
To and fro to the tune of the Tickle-toe.
Ever since I started in to growing
I loved to hear the music playin’
See my dear old mammy swayin’
Jazz, jazz, that’s all I ever knew
All day long; I never would get through
Jazz, jazz, That’s all I want to do.
Play me a little jazz.
‘Cause I’m a Jazz Baby!
Little Jazz Baby that’s all.