Civilization

Each morning a missionary advertise with neon sign
He tells the native population that civilization is fine
And three educated savages holler from a bongo tree
That civilization is a thing for me to see

So bongo, bongo, bongo I don't want to leave the Congo
Oh no no no no no
Bingle, bangle, bungle I'm so happy in the jungle I refuse to go
Don't want no bright lights, false teeth, doorbells, landlords
I make it clear
(That no matter how they coax him)
I'll stay right here

I looked through a magazine the missionary's wife conceals
(A magazine? What happens?)
I see how people who are civilized bump you with automobiles
(You know you can get hurt that way Daniel?)
At the movies they have got to pay many coconuts to see
(What do they see Danny?)
Uncivilized pictures that the newsreel takes of me

So bongo, bongo, bongo he don't want to leave the Congo
Oh no no no no no
Bingle, bangle, bungle he's so happy in the jungle he refuse to go
Don't want no penthouse, bathtub, streetcars, taxis
Noise in my ear
(So no matter how they coax him)
I'll stay right here

They hurry like savages to get aboard an iron train
(The Tring-galim-bohoo-laham-bah-le Express)
And though it's smokey and it's crowded they're too civilized to complain
When they've got two weeks vacation they hurry to vacation grounds
(What do they do Danny?)
They swim and they fish, but that's what I do all year round

So bongo, bongo, bongo I don't want to leave the Congo
Oh no no no no no
Bingle, bangle, bungle I'm so happy in the jungle I refuse to go
Don't want no jailhouse, shotguns, fish hooks, golf clubs
I've got my spear
(So no matter how they coax him)
I'll stay right here

They have things like the atom bomb
So I think I'll stay where I "am"
Civilization, I'll stay right here