"My Gal is a High-Born Lady" (Alternative titles: ''My Gal is a High Born Lady'', ''My Gal's a High Born Lady'') is a minstrel song was written by

Barney Fagan Barney Fagan (January 12, 1850 – January 12, 1937) was an American performer, director, choreographer, and composer. Career Barney Fagan was born as Bernard J. Fagan in Boston, son of Douglass and Ellen Fagan. His father was the deputy w ...

and Gustav Luders (music) in 1896. It was a favourite well into the first half of the 20th century and is still performed today, often in bluegrass style. Its unusual

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...

is regarded as seminal in the later popularity of the

Foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a tim ...

. The original lyrics are offensive to modern culture due to their

racial stereotypes An ethnic stereotype, racial stereotype or cultural stereotype involves part of a system of beliefs about typical characteristics of members of a given ethnic group, their status, societal and cultural norms. A national stereotype, or nationa ...

and the song is notable for how often it has been performed with altered lyrics (e.g. the Looney Tunes cartoon ''

Long-Haired Hare ''Long-Haired Hare'' is a 1949 American animated short film directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. It was produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures as part of the '' Looney Tunes'' series, and ...

'').

External links

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References

1896 songs American songs {{song-stub