The Annotated "Doin' That Rag"

Lyrics omitted. The annotations below are reproduced by permission of David Dodd; the song lyrics themselves are copyrighted and are not reproduced here. Read them at the official source: dead.net/songs.

• This version included on What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been

Quite a few songs in American popular music have had titles similar to this one:

• "Doin' The Ducky Wuck" (1935); words and music by Joe Penner and Hal Raynor.
• "Doin' the New Low-Down" (1928); words by Dorothy Fields, music my Jimmy McHugh.
• "Doin' the Raccoon" (1928); words by Raymond Klages, music by J. Fred Coots.
• "Doin' the Uptown Lowdown" (1933); words by Mack Gordon, music by Harry Revel.
• "Doin' What Comes Naturally" (1946); words and music by Irving Berlin.

"Ev'rybody's doin' it, doin' it, doin' it;
Ev'rybody's doin' it, doin, it, doin' it.
See that rag-time couple over there,
Watch them throw their shoulder in the air,
Snpa their finger, honey, I declare,
It's a bear, it's a bear, it's a bear, there!"

"Ignis fatuus: (foolish fire): 1. a light that sometimes appears in the night over marshy ground and is often attributable to the combustion of gas from decomposed organic matter. 2. A deceptive goal or hope." --Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary.

Will o' the Wisp
modeled 1858
Harriet Hosmer

marble
32 1/2 x 16 3/4 x 17 in. (82.5 x 42.5 x 43.2 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum

According to a study of the meaning of African American spirituals, Wade in the Water:

"An example of a song composed for one purpose, but used secretly for other, masked purposes is the familiar spiritual "Wade in the Water." This song was created to accompany the rite of baptism, but Harriet Tubman used it to communicate to fugitives escaping to the North that they should be sure to "wade in the water" in order to throw bloodhounds off their scent."(p. 50)

"In commenting on different versions of this song ["Wade in the Water"], observers have noted that it was sung in encouragement and celebration of the spirit of Africans in bondage as they participated in the Christian rite of baptism by immersion. However, these "Christian" baptismal ceremonies frequently served as a mask for a more traditional West African religious ceremony in which a tall cross, driven by a deacon into the river bottom, served as a bridge facilitating communication between the world of the living and the dead. In addition, the cross placed in the water in this manner also symbolized the four corners of the earth and the four winds of heaven. When the cross was utilized in this way by enslaved African worhsipers, it was as if the sun in its orbit was mirrored, revealing the fullness of the Bakongo religion. And since those who lived a good life might experience rebirth in generations of grandchildren, the cycle of death and rebirth could hardly have been more suggestive than through the staff-cross--a symbol of communal renewal.: (p. 66)

"She waded in the water
And she got her feet all wet."

one-eyed jacks

Thanks, Daniel!

The aces are crawling up and down...

From: Eight Way Wesley [mailto:eightway@kmonkey.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2003 5:14 AM
Subject: FYI, Doin that Rag trivia bit

I'm not sure if this belongs in your annotated gd lyrics page, but fwiw.

So, i'm the author of Windows Solitiare -- written many a year ago while i was in college. My finance at the time (no, we didn't get married), did the graphics. Anyway, the card back with the guy holding the 3 aces has an "Ace crawling up and down his sleeve". It's no coincidence that we listened to a lot of Dead music back then...

-8WW '//es Cherry - wesc@technosis.com www.technosis.com
"Remember who you wanted to be"