Lyrics The Real American Folk Song (1959 Stereo Version) - Ella Fitzgerald

Near Barcelona, The Peasant Crooned
The Old Traditional Spanish Tunes
The Neapolitan Street Song Sighs
You Think Of Italian Skys
Each Nation Has A Creative Vein
Originating A Native Strain
With Folk Songs Plaintive And Others Gay
In Their Own Peculiar Way
American Folk Songs, I Feel
Have A Much Stronger Appeal
The Real American Folksong Is A Rag
A Mental Jag
A Rhythmic Tonic For The Chronic Blues
The Critics Called It A Joke Song But Now
They've Changed Their Tune, And They Like It, Somehow
For It's Innoculated With A Syncopated Sort Of Meter, Sweeter
Than A Classic Strain,
Boy You Can't Remain, Still Or Quiet, For It's A Riot
The Real American Folksong
Is Like A Fountain Of Youth
You Taste, And It Elates You, And Then, Invigorates You
The Real American Folksong, The Masses Coaxed On, Is A Rag
(Instrumental Break)
The Real American Folksong Is A Rag
A Mental Jag
A Rhythmic Tonic For The Chronic Blues
The Critics Called It A Joke Song But Now
They've Changed Their Tune, And They Like It, Somehow
For It's Innoculated With A Syncopated Sort Of Meter, Sweeter
Than A Classic Strain,
Boy You Can't Remain, Still Or Quiet, For It's A Riot
The Real American Folksong
Is Like A Fountain Of Youth
You Taste, And It Elates You, And Then, Invigorates You
The Real American Folksong, Is A Rag