Wow!

I've been looking for lyrics to this song for a number of years. I never knew there were so many versions or that it went back so far, but I guess that is common. I believe my mom and her sister learned this song in camp back in the 30's/40's. My mom used to sing this "silly song" to me when I was a kid (60's/70's) and I loved it. Of course, we didn't worry about political correctness back then. I've never been successful in finding any reference on the internet - probably because of the differences in the version that they sang: the refrain of which went something like:

Chicka-la-chee cha-lie cha-lo
Chicka-la romeo anna bananaga
Wallaga wallaga China Sea
Anna bananaga wallaga chow.

Sadly my mom passed away recently, but I'll have to see if my aunt can still recall or rederive the lyrics that they learned. I think my mom was hesitant to sing this song to me in recent years because my own daughters are Chinese and she didn't want to give the wrong impression.

Ironically, it wasn't until my own daughter learned the song "Chickery Chick" in music class this year and came home singing it that I was able to make the connection. I'd never heard of that song, but it was apparently a pop hit in the 40's. I'll be sure and post "our" version of the song if my (now 85 year old) aunt can remember it.