Lyrics to "Big Bamboo" and "Shame in the Family"

Big Bamboo

I asked my lady what should I do,
To make her happy, not make her blue,
She said, "The only thing I want from you,
Is a little bitty of the big bamboo."

(Chorus)

She wanted the big bamboo, bamboo,
Eye eye-eye eye-eye-eye,
Working for the Yankee dollar.

So I gave her a coconut,
She said, "I like him, he's okay,
But there's just one thing that worries me,
What good are the nuts without the tree?"

So I sold my lady a banana plant,
She said, "I like him, he's elegant,
We should not let him go to waste,
But he's much too soft to suit my taste."

So I bought my lady a sugar cane,
The fruit of fruits, I did explain,
But she was tired of him very quick,
She said, "I'd rather get my lips around your dip stick."

So I gave my honey a rambutan,
Soft and prickly, how the juices ran,
She said, "I've seen a fruit like this before,
But it had a long stalk and two pips in the core."

She met a china man, Him Hung Low,
They got married, went to Mexico,
But she divorced him very quick,
She said, "I want bamboo, not chopstick."

Shame in the Family

Wohohoho, it's real, shame and scandal in the family
Wohohoho, it's real, shame and scandal in the family
In Trinidad, there was a family, much confusion as you will see
It was a mama and a papa and a boy who was grown
Wanted to marry and have wife of his own
Found a young girl, who suited him nice
Went to his papa to ask his advice
His papa said son, I have to say no
That girl is your sister but your mama don't know
Wohohoho, it's real, shame and scandal in the family
Wohohoho, it's real, shame and scandal in the family


A week went by and the summer came down
Soon the best cook in the islands he found
He went to his papa, to make a day
His papa shook his head and to him he did say
You can't marry that girl, I have to say no
That girl is your sister, but your mama don't know
Wohohoho, it's real, shame and scandal in the family
Wohohoho, it's real, shame and scandal in the family


Went to his mama, and thought what he said
And told his mama, what his papa had said
His mama she laughed she says, go man go
Your daddy ain't your daddy, but your daddy don't know
Wohohoho, it's real, shame and scandal in the family
Wohohoho, it's real, shame and scandal in the family
Wohohoho, it's real, shame and scandal in the family
Ooh [oh], it's real, shame and scandal in the family
Ooh, it's real, shame and scandal in the family [mmmh]
Ooh, it's real...