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
Bingle, 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 atom bomb,
so I think I'll stay where I "ahm"
Civilization, I'll stay right here!