Traditional & Folk Songs with lyrics & midi music www.traditionalmusic.co.uk 
Wonderful Crocodile 
Wonderful Crocodile 
Come list ye, landsmen, all to me, To tell the truth I'm bound-What happened to me by going to sea And the wonders that l found. Shipwrecked l was one sappy rouse And cast all on the shore, So I resolved to take a cruise, The country to explore. 
cho: To my ri tol tooral loralido, Ritol looral lay, To my ri tol lol fol liddle lol de fol To my tol looral lay. 
Oh, l had not long scurried out, When close alongside the ocean, 'Twas there that I saw something move, Like all the earth in motion. While steering close up alongside l saw it was a crocodile; From the end of his nose to the tip of his tail It measured five hundred mile. 
This crocodile I could plainly see Was none of the common race, For I had to climb a very high tree Before l could see his face. And when he lifted up his jaw, Perhaps you may think it a lie, But his back was three miles through the clouds And his nose near touched the sky. 
Oh, up aloft the wind was high, lt blew a hard gale from the south; l lost my hold and away l flew Right into the crocodile's mouth. He quickly closed his jaws on me, He thought to nab a victim; But l slipped down his throat, d'ye see, And that's the way l tricked 'im. 
l traveled on for a year or two Till l got into his maw, And there were rum kegs not a few And a thousand bullocks in store. Through life I banished all my care For on grub l was not stinted; And in this crocodile lived ten years, Very well contented. 
This crocodile being very old, One day at last he died; He was three years in catching cold, He was so long and wide. His skin was three mi!es thick, l'm sure, Or very ncar about; For l was full six months or more In making a hole to get out. 
So now l'm safe on earth once more, Resolved no more to roam. ln a ship that passed I got a berth, So now I'm safe at home. But, if my story you should doubt, Did you ever cross the Nile 'Twas there he fell---you'll find the shell Of this wonderful crocodile. 
From American Ballads and Folk Songs, Lomax