I don't smoke, I don't shoot smack

But I got a spicy monkey ridin' on my back.

Don't eat beignets, too much sugar and dough,

But I will play for gumbo

Yes, I will play for gumbo



It started at my Grandma's kitchen by the sea,

She warned me when she told me "son the first one's free"

It hit me like a rock or some Taikwondo,

Cause I will play for gumbo

Oh yea, I will play for gumbo.



[Chorus:]

A piece of French bread

With which to wipe my bowl,

Good for the body.

Good for the soul.

It's a little like religion

And a lot like sex.

You should never know

When you're gonna get it next.

At midnight in the quarter or noon in Thibadeaux

I will play for gumbo

Yes, I will play for gumbo.



I'm not talkin' quesadillas or a dozen Krispy Kremes,

Or a pound of caviar that's a rich man's dream.

No banana split or fillet of pompano.

No, I will play for gumbo,

Yeah, I will play for gumbo



[Chorus]



Maybe it's the sausage or those pretty pink shrimp

Or that popcorn rice that makes me blow up like a blimp.

Maybe it's that voodoo from Marie Leveaux,

But I will play for gumbo

Yeah, I will play for gumbo



The sauce boss does his cookin' on the stage,

Stirrin' and a singing for his nightly wage.

Sweating and frettin' from his head to his toe,

Playin' and swayin' with the gumbo

Prayin' and buffetin' with the gumbo



[Chorus]