Said the
signifyin' monkey to the lion one day,
'Hey, there's a great big
elephant down the way,
Goin' 'round, talkin',
I'm sorry to say,
About your mama in a scandalous way.
Yes, he's talkin' 'bout
your mama
And your gran'ma too,
An' he don't show too
much respect for you.
You weren't here an'
i sure am glad,
'Cause what he said about your mama
made me mad!'
Signifyin' monkey,
Stay up in your tree;
You are always lyin'
and signifyin';
But you better not monkey with me.
The lion said, 'yeah - well i'll fix him!
Tear that elephant limb from limb.'
Then he jungle with a mighty roar,
Took off like a shot from a forty- four.
He found the elephant where
the tall grass grows
And said, 'i come to punch
you in your long nose!'
The elephant looked at the lion in surprise
And said, 'boy,
you better go pick on
Somebody your size.'
But the lion wouldn't listen,
He made a pass,
The elephant slapped him
down in the grass.
The lion roared and sprang
from the ground
And that's when the elephant
really went to town.
I mean he whipped that lion
for the rest of the day
And i still don't see how
that lion got away.
But he dragged on off,
more dead than alive
And that's when that monkey started
His signifyin' jive.
Signifyin' monkey,
Stay up in your tree;
You are al ways lyin' and
signifyin';
But you better not monkey with me.
The monkey looked down and said,
'Oooooeee!
What is this beat- up mess i see?
Is that you, lion?
Ha, ha, do tell, man, he whipped your head
To a fare- thee- well,
Give you a beatin' that
was rough enough
And you supposed to be
'king of the jungle'
- Ain't that some stuff.
You big overgrown pussycat,
Don't you roar, or i'll hop down there
And whip you some more!'
The monkey got to laughin'
And jumpin' up and down,
But his foot missed the limb
And he plunged to the ground.
The lion was on him with all four feet,
Gonna grind that mon key
to hamburger meat.
The monkey looked up
with tears in his eyes,
And said, 'please, mister lion, i apologize!
I meant no harm, please lemme go
And i'll tell you somethin'
You really need to know.'
Signifyin' monkey,
Stay up in your tree;
You are al ways lyin' and
signifyin';
But you better not monkey with me.
The lion stepped back to
hear what he'd say
An' that monkey scampered
up a tree
And got away.
'What i wanna tell ya,'
The monkey hollered then,
'Is if you fool with me,
i'll sic the elephant
On you again!'
The lion just shead and
said,'you jive...
If you and your monkey
children wanna keep alive,
Up in them trees is where
you better stay!'
And that's where they
are to this very day.
Signifyin' monkey,
Stay up in your tree;
You are always lyin' and signifyin';
But you better not,
No, you better not,
You are always lyin', and signifyin',
But you better not monkey with me.