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| Written by | Stephen Foster |
| Date | 1850 |
"Camptown Races" is a popular American song, originally written by noted songwriter Stephen Foster as a minstrel song (a fact reflected in its original published title, "Gwine to Run All Night, or De Camptown Races"). It recounts the joys and disappointments of racetrack gambling. The song is particularly known for the "doo-dah, doo-dah" refrain and, as with other public domain songs or nursery rhymes, often shows up in collections of children's songs.
Performances[]
- The tune was used for Jim Henson's "Flapsole Sneakers" commercial spoof.
- In a Sesame Street News Flash skit (First: Episode 0477), as Kermit covers the race between the Tortoise and the Hare, the Hare sings a snatch of the song.
- In a Muppet Jazz Riff from episode 413 of The Muppet Show, Floyd Pepper and Zoot respond to the question "Crosstown buses run all night?" with the "Doodah, doo-dah" refrain.
- The song has been used in Sesame Street Live shows, such as When I Grow Up.
- In a UK skit in the first episode of Muppets Tonight, Polly and Clueless start to sing the song until pelted with produce by Mr. Callahan.
- In the Muppets Inside video game, "Camptown Races" is one of the songs performed by The Leprechaun Brothers in the "Scope That Song" mini-game.
- Statler and Waldorf audition for American Idol with a stilted version of the song in episode 22 of From the Balcony.