A popular song from 1920
Words by Howard E. Rogers
Music by Harry Akst and Otto Morgan
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
1. They do a brand new dance in old Bombay
I happened to be there by chance one day
Natives in their beads arrayed
Danced there while a tom-tom played
The funny movements surely made me smile
They call their funny dance the Crocodile
I’ll say one of these fine days
It may be a dancing craze, so
Chorus:
Let’s do the Crocodile
Let’s do the Crocodile
While the drum goes rum-tum-tum
In an oriental fashion
Come on and rock a while
You’ll like the Crocodile
While you’re dancing
Mystic strains entrancing
Take you across the sea
Make you just want to be
In Bombay to stay for a while
All your cares and troubles
Will go up like bubbles
When you dance the Crocodile
2. If you should ever go to old Bombay
I know you’ll never want to stay away
When you see them do that dance
That new Oriental prance
The way they make their tom-toms syncopate
Is bound to make you smile and say “It’s great”
I’ve done every brand new step
This one fills you full of pep, so
Sung by Laurence Rubenstein: