At The Ball, That’s All 1913 Song
Released November 20, 2025
About This Track
Before modern club anthems, before swing took over dance halls, there was a little ragtime firecracker called “At the Ball… That’s All.” Released in 1912, this song was the kind of tune that didn’t just play in a room it took over the room.
Back in that era, dance halls were buzzing every weekend. Couples lined up in their best clothes, shoes polished, skirts pressed, ready to show out on smooth wooden floors. Ragtime bands laid down snappy pianos, bright horns, and rhythms that pushed people straight out of their chairs. And this song was one of the tracks guaranteed to lift the whole crowd.
“At the Ball… That’s All” wasn’t just background music. It was a full-on instruction manual for how to loosen up and take over the dance floor. The lyrics walk you through it commence advancing, start a-prancing, slide and glide entrancing like a hype man from the early 1900s coaching people into a good time.
It captured everything that made ragtime electric:
a playful beat
flirty dance energy
call and response singing
and that “everybody’s welcome, nobody sits down” vibe
The “ball” in the song was basically the 1912 version of going viral. If you were feeling blue, the music was your cure. If the night felt slow, the band would kick into this tune and the whole hall woke up. The song made people feel bold enough to dance a little closer, swing a little wider, and forget the outside world for a few minutes.
It was simple, joyful, rhythmic, and impossible to resist which is probably why it spread so fast across the country. Sheet music sold, bands covered it, and dance halls treated it like a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
And over 100 years later, the magic still holds.
The lyrics still bounce.
The instructions still make sense.
The energy still hits.
It’s the blueprint for a good time 1912 style.
Lyrics
Listen, listen, listen at that dreamy music playing
It's reminiscent, listen what you're missing
That tune that keeps you swaying
My, but that music sounds so sweet
I just can't keep still upon my feet
'Cause my ragtime music to me is a perfect treat
Because it certainly can't be beat
When at a ball you are felling kinda blue
Listen and I'll tell you what to do
Commence advancing, commence advancing
Just start a-prancing, right and left a-glancing
A moochee dancing, slide and glide entrancing
Do the tango jiggle with a Texas Tommy wiggle
Take your partner and hold her
Lightly enfold her, a little bolder
Just work your shoulder
Snap your fingers one and all
In the hall a the ball, that's all!
Swaying, swaying, swaying right and left
Each one a-reeling
The band's a-playing, swaying, all displaying
That ragtime moochee feeling
Clouds of joy floating 'round the hall
A reign of happiness seems to fall
It is so entrancing while dancing at a ragtime ball
Because it makes a hit with all
When at a ball you feel somewhat blue
There's but one thing left for you to do
Commence advancing, commence advancing
Just start a-prancing, right and left a-glancing
A moochee dancing, slide and glide entrancing
Do the tango jiggle with a Texas Tommy wiggle
Take your partner and hold her
Lightly enfold her, a little bolder
Just work your shoulder
Snap your fingers one and all
In the hall a the ball, that's all!
🎞️ Compare with the Original
This is a modern remix of a vintage recording from the early 1900s. Want to hear how it originally sounded?