Verse 1: Down in the jungles lived a maid,
Of royal blood though dusky shade.
A marked impression once she made
Upon a Zulu from Matabooloo.
And ev’ry morning he would be
Down underneath a bamboo tree,
Awaiting there his love to see.
And then to her he’d sing:

Chorus:
If you lak-a me lak I lak-a you and we lak-a both the same,
I lak-a say, this very day, I lak-a change your name.
‘Cause I love-a you and love-a you true
And if you-a love-a me,
One live as two, two live as one under the bamboo tree.

Verse 2: And in this simple jungle way
He wooed the maiden ev’ry day by singing what he had to say.
One day he seized her and gently squeezed her.
And then beneath the bamboo green,
He begged her to become his queen.
The dusky lady blushed unseen and joined him in his song:
[To chorus]

Verse 3: This little story, strange but true,
Is often told in Mataboo of how this Zulu tried to woo
His jungle lady in tropics shady.
Although the scene was miles away,
Right here at home I dare to say,
You’ll hear some Zulu ev’ry day gush out this soft refrain:
[To Chorus]