[1st verse:]
People here are going wild
Every woman, man and child
Has some ragtime on the brain
Every band and orchestra
Playing in America
Plays a syncopated strain
It's floating in the air
You hear it everywhere
[Refrain:]
Everything in America is ragtime
They talk in ragtime
It seems to be the fashion
Their only pa**ion is swaying to and fro
Snapping fingers so
Acting as though they were having a jag-time
The U.S.A. is a land of syncopation
It seems the nation
Is just a million acres
Of shoulder shakers
Composers, just as thick as bees
Writing raggy melodies
They're even making Gaby Deslys sing ragtime
[2nd verse:]
In the subway every night
Folks start swaying left and right
While they read the evening news
When a baby starts to cry
Longing for a lullaby
Mother sings the Memphis Blues
You can't drive it away
Because it's here to stay