It´s the story of a very unfortunate coloured man
Who got arrested down in old Hong Kong
He got twenty years´ privilege taken away from him
When he kicked old Buddha´s gong

And now he´s poppin´ the piano just to raise the
price
Of a ticket to the land of the free
Well, he says his home´s in ´Frisco where they
send the rice
But it´s really in Tennessee

That´s why he says
I need someone to love me
Need somebody to carry me home to San
Francisco
And bury my body there
I need someone to lend me a fifty-dollar bill
and then
I´ll leave Hong Kong far behind me
For happiness once again

Won´t somebody believe
I´ve a yen to see that Bay again
Everytime I try to leave
Sweet opium won´t let me fly away
I need someone to love me
Need somebody to carry me home to San
Francisco
And bury my body there

That´s the story of a very unfortunate coloured man
Who got arrested down in old Hong Kong
He got twenty years´ privilege taken away from him
When he kicked old Buddha´s gong.