There once was a man with a double chin,
Who played with skill on a violin:
And he played in time and he played in tune,
But he never played anything but 'Old Zip Coon'.
'Old Zip Coon' he played all day,
Until he drove his friends away;
He played all night by the light of the moon
And wouldn't play anything but 'Old Zip Coon'.

So the neighbours said "Will you kindly play
'Nellie Bly' or 'Where are the Flowers in May'?"
Any tune will do if its not that tune,"
But he wouldn't play anything but 'Old Zip Coon'.
'Old Zip Coon' he played all night,
Until the owls and bats took flight;
His friends all begged for a different tune,
But he wouldn't play anything but 'Old Zip Coon'.

So they took that man with the double chin,
All his worldly goods and the violin.
And they shipped him off to a foreign shore
Where the natives had never heard the tune before.
'Old Zip Coon' he played all day:
He played until the natives ran away:
He played and played by the light of the moon
Till they wished they had never heard of 'Old Zip Coon'.

They have left him there by the deep blue sea,
Where he lives alone in a hollow tree;
And he played that tune and it never ends,
So it isn't surprising that he has no friends.
'Old Zip Coon' he plays all day,
There's no one left to run away;
And still he thinks it's a beautiful tune,
And that is the history of 'Old Zip Coon'.

abc | midi | pdf

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Source: Singing Together, Autumn 1960, BBC Publications

Notes:
The notes say:

Old American Tune
Words by David Stevens

From The Club Song Book for Boys, (Boosey and Hawkes)

PC pressures would make this quite a difficult song to sing at a club these days, which is a pity as there is actually nothing in the song itself that could offend. If only it had been called 'Old Racoon'!

Roud: 4358 (Search Roud index at VWML)
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