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 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 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 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 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 atom bomb So I think I'll stay where I am Civilization I'll stay right here

You've got to accentuate the positive Eliminate the negative Latch on to the affirmative Don't mess with Mister In-Between You've got to spread joy up to the maximum Bring gloom down to the minimum Have faith or pandemonium Liable to walk upon the scene To illustrate his last remark Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark What did they do Just when everything looked so dark Man, they said we better, accentuate the positive Eliminate the negative Latch on to the affirmative Don't mess with Mister In-Between No, do not mess with Mister In-Between Do you hear me? Oh, listen to me children and-a you will hear About the elininatin' of the negative And the accent on the positive And gather 'round me children if you're willin' And sit tight while I start reviewin' The attitude of doin' right You've gotta accentuate the positive Eliminate the negative Latch on to the affirmative Don't mess with Mister In-Between You've got to spread joy up to the maximum Bring gloom, down to the minimum Otherwise pandemonium Liable to walk upon the scene To illustrate my last remark Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark What did they say Say when everything looked so dark Man, they said we better accentuate the positive Eliminate the negative Latch on to the affirmative Don't mess with Mister In-Between No, don't mess with Mister In-Between