A popular song from 1922.
Words by Lew Brown.
Music by Walter Donaldson.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- Sailor Bill McCann
Was a handsome sailor man
Who took a trip on a ship
Down to the Bamboo Islands
He got back today
Feeling kind of gay
When I asked him why
Here’s all he had to say
Fol-de-rol-dol, Fol-de-rol-dol
Fol-de-rol-dol dee
Next time I go to sea
Come on along with me
Chorus
Gee! but it’s grand in the land
Where the Bamboo Babies grow
Oh! what a sight ev’ry night
When the balmy breezes blow
They wear a dress that is less
Than a dress of calico
Some shake East, some shake West
You’ll shake your hat
And your coat and your vest
Each little peach on the beach
Has a dance that makes you fall
Even Eva Tanguay’d have to
Give ’em gangway, that ain’t all
If you’re feelin’ silly, daffy dilly
And your pulse is slow
Go find a hut and go right off your nut
Where the Bamboo Babies grow
- Sailor Bill McCann said
“Boy’s, I’ve got a plan
To be a king ‘n’ev’rything
Down on the Bamboo Islands
I’ll be king all right
‘Cause they crowned me one night
Talk about your queens
There’s more than Heinz has beans
Fol-de-rol-dol, Fol-de-rol-dol
Fol-de-rol-dol dee
I’m nutty as can be
The squ’r’ls are after me
Chorus
Gee! but it’s grand in the land
Where the Bamboo Babies grow
Oh! what a sight ev’ry night
When the balmy breezes blow
They can improve on the moves
Of the dances that you know
Some are thin, some are fat
Some shake this when they can’t shake that
There on the sand ev’ry night hand in hand
They dance and sing
If you’ve got a quarter
You can buy the daughter
Of the king
If you’re feelin’ loco in your coco
Pack your grip and go
Get a wife for a spoon and two for a broom
Where the Bamboo Babies grow
Sung here by Fred Feild: