Coo coo

My initial reaction upon first listening to this was that this is a direct antecedent of what we today call the Blues.  After hearing the slow opening followed by the short banjo interlude I was expecting to hear a rough form of 12 bar blues.  That didn't materialize, but the song does demonstrate some of the techniques and characteristics which later developed into that form - namely call and response, repetition of opening lines of each stanza as the second line.  However, there are also some significant features that had not developed yet such as the adding of a B line to complement the first two A lines or the use of contrasting IV chord for the second A line.  In fact here there does not appear to be much harmonic variety in the banjo part, although there is variation in the single lines being played above the lower drone.
The call and response form of the lyrics hints at the story of a man questioning and trying to understand an independent woman.  In some ways she is portrayed as a bit of a "golddigger" who is always seeking a "sugar daddy" to provide her with the things she needs and/or wants.
This early use of the banjo is a part of the African tradition which was brought from that continent to North America by those forcibly brought here as slaves.  This tradition helped enrich American music, particularly by this stream which primarily developed in the antebellum South but has gone on to become the underlying basis of much of modern American music.