I listened to this as a child on Tom Chapin's album "Mother Earth". He does a great rendition of it (he skips the last two verses too) and I loved it so much. I never understood it really, but I knew it was silly, so it was perfect.

I was recently reminded of it when I heard my little cousin listening to it in the car. It's astounding how much of it I remember after what must be at least 12-15 years of never hearing it.