Wall Street Rag

"Wall Street Rag" is a ragtime composition by Scott Joplin, first published in 1909.

As indicated by the title, the theme is based on Wall Street following the events surrounding the Panic of 1907.

[2] Unlike most of his rags during this time, this composition is based on a major historical event and features footnotes unique to the theme of this piece.

[3] The rag’s opening section begins with notes of Panic in Wall Street, Brokers feeling melancholy, representing the first phase of the recession.

The next section of the rag moves from a Chopinesque chromatic style to the right-hand chords and bass octaves of Good times have come, providing an atmosphere of hope within the crisis.