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