Each morning, a missionary advertises neon sign

He tells the native population that civilization is fine

And three educated savages holler from a bamboo tree

That civilization is a thing for me to see



So bongo, bongo, bongo, I don't wanna leave the Congo, oh no no no no no

Bingo, 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 concealed (Magazine? What happens?)

I see how people who are civilized bung you with automobile (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, Darling?)

Uncivilized pictures that the newsreel takes of me



So bongo, bongo, bongo, he don't wanna leave the Congo, oh no no no no no

Bingo, 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

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 ground (What do they do, Darling?)

They swim and they fish, but that's what I do all year round



So bongo, bongo, bongo, I don't wanna leave the Congo, oh no no no no no

Bingo, bangle, bungle, I'm so happy in the jungle, I refuse to go

Don't want no jailhouse, shotgun, fish-hooks, golf clubs, I got my spears

So, no matter how they coax him, I'll stay right here



They have things like the a