This is the version of the song that we were taught in the 1970s by our grandmother, who was born in 1912.

In Chinatown there lived a man
His name was Chicka-la Chicka-la Chan
His feet were long and his legs were short
and this is the way the Chinaman walk

Oh Chicka la lee cha lie cha low
Chicka low romeo in a banana go
Wall a go wall a go China sea
In a banana go WOW CHOW

This Chinaman he had some pelf
He lived in a mansion all by himself
His friends came over and built him a boat
And this is the way the chinamen float

Oh Chicka la lee cha lie cha low
Chicka low romeo in a banana go
Wall a go wall a go China sea
In a banana go WOW CHOW

Then one day the man he did die
and in his coffin he did lie
They shipped him back to old Japan
and this is the way his epitaph ran.

Oh Chicka la lee cha lie cha low
Chicka low romeo in a banana go
Wall a go wall a go China sea
In a banana go WOW CHOW!