Oh, dis is de day we pick on de banjo, Ch: Dance, gal, gimme de banjo! Oh, day banjo, dat tal-la-tal-la-wan-go, Ch: Dance, gal, gimme de banjo! Oh, dat banjo, dat seben-string banjo, Ch: Dance, gal, gimme de banjo! Ah was only one an' twenty, Ch: Dance, gal, gimme de banjo! Ah was sent to school fer to be a scholar! Ch: Dance, gal, gimme de banjo! Mah collar was stiff, an' Ah could not swaller. Ch: Dance, gal, gimme de banjo! Oh, dere's mah book, down on de table, Ch: Dance, gal, gimme de banjo! An' you kin read it if you're able! Ch: Dance, gal, gimme de banjo!

This song is sung “with strong emphasis, a quick attack in the chorus [on Dance], and a decided swing.” Doerflinger gives the rendition of William Laurie, who learned it in 1877 aboard the American full-rigger Kit Carson.