MAYBE TIME YOU SPEAK SAYONARA
(ON THE BANKS OF THE WABASH)

WHEN THE ICE IS ON THE RICE IN SOUTHERN HONSHU,
AND THE SAKI IN THE CELLAR STARTS TO FREEZE,
AND YOU WHISPER ‘SWEET OH JOSAN I ADORE YOU.’
THEN YOU’ RE GETTING JUST A SUKOSHI NIPPONESE.

WHEN YOU’RE DANCING TO THE STRAINS OF ‘TANKO BUSHI’ ,
AND YOU’RE ALWAYS SAYING ‘DOZO’ ‘STEAD OF ‘PLEASE’,
AND YOU ANSWER TELEPHONES WITH ‘MOSHI-MOSHI’,
I ‘SINK’ MAYBE YOU’ RE GOING NIPPONESE.

AS YOU SIT UPON THE GRASS MAT SIPPING SAKI,
AND THE COLD WINDS A- WHIPPING ROUND YOUR KNEES,
AND YOU’ RE MUNCHING ON SOME GOCHAN MIXED WITH SAKI,
THEN YOU’ RE SURELY GETTING TAKUSAN NIPPONESE.

WHEN YOU START DISPENSING YEN LIKE IT WAS MONEY,
‘STEAD OF FLINGING IT LIKE PAPER IN THE BREEZE.
AND YOU THINK THAT EVERYTHING YOU SAY IS FUNNY,
THEN, MY LAD, I KNOW YOU’RE TRULY NIPPONESE

Fighting One Twenty-Two Songbook. 1955. [pg 11]

https://archive.org/details/1955fightingonetwentytwosongbook/page/11/mode/2up?q=%22ice+is+on+the+rice%22