Lyrics Mad Dogs & Englishmen (from Words and Music) - Noël Coward

Mad Dogs & Englishmen (from Words and Music)

In tropical climes there are certain times of day
When all the citizens retire
To tear their clothes off and persprie
It’s one of those rules that the greatest fools obey
Because the sun is much too sultry
And one must avoid its ultra-violet ray
Papalaka papalaka papalaka boo
Papalaka papalaka papalaka boo
Digariga digariga digariga doo
Digariga digariga digariga doo
The native grieve when the white men leave their huts
Because they’re obviously definitely nuts!
Mad dogs and Englishmen
Go out in the midday sun
The Japanese don’t care to
The Chinese wouldn’t dare to
Hindoos and Argentines sleep firmly from twelve to one
But Englishmen detest a siesta
In the Philippines
There are lovely screens
To protect you from the glare
In the Malay States
There are hats like plates
Which the Britishers won’t wear
At twelve noon
The natives swoon
And no further work is done
But mad dogs and Englishmen
Go out in the midday sun
It’s such a surprise for the Eastern eyes to see
That though the English are effete
They’re quite impervious to heat
When the white man rides every native hides in glee
Because the simple creatures hope he
Will impale his solar topee on a tree
Bolyboly bolyboly bolyboly baa
Bolyboly bolyboly bolyboly baa
Habaninny habaninny habaninny haa
Habaninny habaninny habaninny haa
It seems such a shame
When the English claim
The earth
That they give rise to such hilarity and mirth
Mad dogs and Englishmen
Go out in the midday sun
The toughest Burmese bandit
Can never understand it
In Rangoon the heat of noon
Is just what the natives shun
They put their Scotch or Rye down
And lie down
In a jungle town
Where the sun beats down
To the rage of man and beast
The English garb
Of the English sahib
Merely gets a bit more creased
In Bangkok
At twelve o’clock
They foam at the mouth and run
But mad dogs and Englishmen
Go out in the midday sun
Mad dogs and Englishmen
Go out in the midday sun
The smallest Malay rabbit
Deplores this stupid habit
In Hongkong
They strike a gong
And fire off a noonday gun
To reprimand each inmate
Who’s in late
In the mangrove swamps
Where the python romps
There is peace from twelve till two
Even caribous
Lie around and snooze;
For there’s nothing else to do
In Bengal
To move at all
Is seldom, if ever done
But mad dogs and Englishmen
Go out in the midday sun