“I Got a Gal in Baltimore”
Description
"I got a gal in Baltimore, Street-car runs right by her door, Crazy baby a-settin' on the floor, Get your hair cut pompadour!"
Notes
Randolph, taking a lead from Spaeth (in _Read 'Em and Weep_, p. 146 [Randolph prints 166 in error]), thinks this may be connected to "Ta-ra-ra boom-de-ay." The form suggests a connection to "Old Joe Clark" or a relative. But until we have more text to work with, any conclusions are shaky. - RBW
Well, here's a bit more [a second half-verse to the half-verse above]: "She don't wear no -- yes, she do/She don't wear no Sunday shoes." The tune is nothing like either "Old Joe Clark" or "Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay"; it's a string-ragtime sort of tune. - PJS
Which, however, still leaves us with only a single verse.... - RBW
Recordings
- Georgia Crackers "I've Got a Gal in Baltimore" (OKeh 45192, 1928; rec. 1927)
References
- Randolph 452, "I Got a Gal in Baltimore" (1 fragment)
- Roud #7601
- BI, R452