South America, Take It Away

Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters

- written by Harold Rome

- from the musical revue "Call Me Mister"

- as recorded May 11, 1946 in Los Angeles by The Andrews Sisters

with Bing Crosby and Vic Schoen & His Orchestra.



Up here in the land of the hot-dog stand

The atom bomb and the Good Humor Man

We think our South American neighbors are grand

We love 'em to beat the band



South America, baba-loo, baba-loo, ay-ee-eh, baba-loo

One favor you can do, ay-ee-eh, you can do

You beautiful lands below

Don't know what you began

To put it plainly, I'm tired of shakin'

To that Pan-American plan



Take back your Samba, ay!, your Rumba, ay!, your Conga, ay-yi-yi!

I can't keep movin', ay!, my chassis, ay!, any longer, ay-yi-yi!

Now maybe Latins, ay!, in their middles, ay!, are built stronger, ay-yi-yi!

But all this takin' to the quakin' and this makin' with the shakin' leaves me achin', ol?



First shake around and settle there

Then you shake around and settle here

Then you shake around and settle there

That's enough, that's enough

Take it back, my spine's outta-whack

There's a strange click-clack

In the back of my sacroilliac



Take back your Conga, ay!, your Samba, ay!, your Rumba, ay-yi-yi!

Why can't you send us, ay!, a less strenu-, ay!, -ous number, ay-yi-yi!

I got more bumps now, ay!, than on a, ay!, cucumber, ay-yi-yi!

While all those Latin drums are cloppin', like a Jumpin' Jack I'm hoppin' without stoppin', ol?

South America, take it away



First you shake around and settle there (where?)

Then you shake around and settle here (oh, there)

And then you shake around and settle there (why Bing!)

That's enough, that's enough

Take it back, my spine's outta-whack

There's a strange click-clack

In the back of my sacroilliac

Oh, my achin' back



Take back your Conga, ay!, your Samba, ay!, your Rumba, ay-yi-yi!

Bring back the old days, ay!, of dancing I remember, ay-yi-yi!

My hips are cracking, I am shrieking "Ay-Carumba!", ay-yi-yi!

I got a wriggle and a diddle and a jiggle like a fiddle in my middle, ol?

This fancy swishin' imposition wears out all of my transmission ammunition, ol?

Though I like neighborly relations all these crazy new gyrations try my patience, ol?

South America, take it away!