My Little Bimbo

(Down on the Bamboo Isle)
A popular song from 1920
Words by Grant Clarke
Lyrics by Walter Donaldson

The sheet music:

My Little Bimbo – Sheet MusicDownload

Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:

My_Little_Bimbo – MIDIDownload

Lyrics

  1. Sailor Bill McCoy was a daring sailor boy
    His ship got wrecked awhile, on a Fee-jee-ee-jee Isle
    He led a savage life and hunted with a knife
    He said, “I’ll tell you about it, don’t tell my wife

Chorus
I’ve got a Bimbo down on the Bamboo Isle
She’s waiting there for me
Beneath a bamboo tree
Believe me, she’s got all the other Bimbo’s beat a mile
She dances daily, gayly
She’d be a hit with Barnum Bailey
I’ll build a bungaloo on the Bamboo Isle
‘Cause when I go again, I’ll stay awhile
I’ve seen wrecks, plenty of wrecks
Out on the stormy sea
But, by heck, you’ve never seen a wreck
Like the wreck she made of me
And, all she wore was a great big Zulu smile
My little Bimbo down on the Bamboo Isle

  1. William’s boss said, “Bill, a Captain’s job you’ll fill
    On a ship bound North, today it’s sailing forth”
    A Captain’s job is fine, but Bill said, “I’ll decline
    I’ll take half pay as a sailor on that ship of mine

My Little Bimbo (extra chorus lines from 78rpm record by Frank Crummit)

(in 2nd chorus)

…she dances gayly, daily
OH SHE PLAYS A MEAN UKULELE.
I’ll build a bungaloo on the Bamboo Isle
’Cause when I go again I’ll stay awhile.
I CAN’T FORGET THE DAY WE MET
FOLKS WOULD YOU BELIEVE,
SHE HAD ON LESS, VERY MUCH LESS
THAN POOR OLD MOTHER EVE.
For all she wore was a great big Zulu smile
My little bimbo down on the Bamboo Isle.

(in 4th chorus)

’Cause when I go again I’ll stay awhile.
SOMEONE SAID “WHAT’S A BIMBO MEAN?’
WELL, YOU TAKE MY ADVICE.
I DON’T KNOW WHAT A BIMBO MEANS
BUT A BIMBO’S AWFUL NICE!
For all she wore was a great big Zulu smile
My little bimbo down on the Bamboo Isle

Sung here by Laurence Rubenstein: