Song lyrics to Camptown Races (1850) by Stephen Foster
Song lyrics to Camptown Races (1850) by Stephen Foster – originally a minstrel song, it’s become an American classic, performed virtually everywhere – stage, screen, radio, television, and movies.
The Campptown ladies sing this song,
Doo-da, Doo-da
The Camptown racetrack’s five miles long
Oh, de doo-da day
Goin’ to run all night
Goin’ to run all day
I bet my money on a bob-tailed nag
Somebody bet on the gray
Oh, the long tailed filly and the big black horse,
Doo-da, doo-da
Come to a mud hole and they all cut across,
Oh, de doo-da day
Goin’ to run all night
Goin’ to run all day
I bet my money on a bob-tailed nag
Somebody bet on the gray
I went down there with my hat caved in,
Doo-da, doo-da
I came back home with a pocket full of tin
Oh, de doo-da day
Goin’ to run all night
Goin’ to run all day
I bet my money on a bob-tailed nag
Somebody bet on the gray
Media
Camptown Races has been played in a variety of movie and television shows, including:
- Holiday – sung by Lew Ayres, Katharine Hepburn, Jean Dixon and Edward Everett Horton.
- Swanee River – sung by Al Jolson
- Riding High — sung by Bing Crosby, Coleen Gray, Clarence Muse, and children
- O. Henry’s Full House – in the segment “The Clarion Call”, it’s sung by Richard Widmark.
- El Dorado
- The Reivers
- Blazing Saddles
- Short Circuit 2 — a version is sung by the robot Johnny 5 while digging a tunnel
- Muppets From Space
- The King’s Speech — sung by Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush.