Lyrics:
I'se got a little baby, but she's out of sight,
I talk to her across the telephone;
I'se never seen my baby but she's mine, all right;
So take my tip, and leave this gal alone.
Ev'ry single morning, you will hear me yell,
“Hey Central! Fix me up along the line.”
He connects me to ma honey, then I ring the bell,
And this is what I say to baby mine,
“Hello! ma baby, Hello! ma honey,
Hello! ma ragtime gal,
Send me a kiss by wire,
Baby, my heart's on fire!
If you refuse me,
Honey, you'll lose me,
Then you'll be left alone; Oh! baby,
Telephone and tell me I'se your own.”
This morning, thro' the phone, she said her name was Bess,
And now I kind of know where I am at;
I'se satisfied because I'se got my babe's address,
Here pasted in the lining of my hat.
I am mighty scared, 'cause if the wires get crossed,
'Twill separate me from ma baby mine,
Then some other c—n will win her, and my game is lost,
And so each day I shout along the line,
“Hello! ma baby, Hello! ma honey,
Hello! ma ragtime gal,
Send me a kiss by wire,
Baby, my heart's on fire!
If you refuse me,
Honey, you'll lose me,
Then you'll be left alone; Oh! baby,
Telephone and tell me I'se your own.”
A copy of 1899 sheet music for the song is held in the New York Public Library and may be viewed online at digitalcollections.nypl.org
