Title

He's a Rag Picker / music by Irving Berlin; words by Irving Berlin

Authors

Irving Berlin
Waterson Berlin and Snyder Co. (New York)

Preview

Files

ISBN

MUM00682, 0049

Description

Cover: drawing of a Caucasian male playing piano, inset photo of McCormack and Irving; Publisher: Waterson Berlin and Snyder Co. (New York)

Subject Headings (Library of Congress)

Songs -- United States -- 20th Century; Popular Music -- United States

Relational Format

music score

Original Format

scores

Original Collection

Sheldon Harris Collection (MUM00682), Archives and Special Collections, University of Mississippi Libraries

Finding Aid

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/finding_aids/322

Lyrics

Lyrics:
First verse
Down in Alabama where the cotton grows, Lives a funny fellow by the name of Mose, He hasn't anybody he can pick up on, So he picks on a grand piano; Morning, noon and night You'll find him picking rags, I don't mean the kind of rags they put in bags, He doesn't own a junk shop, Just the same.
Chorus
He's Rag picker, a rag picker, All the live long day, he bangs upon the piano keys, In search of raggy melodies, All day he's at the ivories; And while he dozes he composes, Mister Moses makes an ordinary ditty sound so pretty, like nobody can. Most any time of the day, You'll find him picking away, he's rag picker, a rag picker, A Rag picking man. He's a man.
Second verse
Moses' father told me that upon the morn, When his little piano playing boy was born, They didn't have a cradle they could put him in, So he slept on the grand piano; In a week they found him there upon his knees, Chewing on the highly polished piano kays, That very day his father Loudly cried.
(Chorus)

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