Abiyoyo
Arlo Guthrie & Pete Seeger Lyrics

Abiyoyo, Abiyoyo, Abiyoyo, Abiyoyo
Chorus of the song emphasizing the name of the giant called Abiyoyo.

Abiyoyo, yoyoyo, yoyoyo
Continuation of the chorus featuring the same name and a playful repetition.

Once upon a time there was a little boy who played the ukelele. He'd go around town, 'Blmp, blmp, blmp, blmp, blmp, blmp, blmp, bImp blmp blmp, blmp blmp, blmp!'
The opening lines of the song describing a boy who played the ukulele but was frowned upon by grown-ups.

Grown-ups said "Get that thing out of here!"
Describes how the boy and his ukulele were not welcome among the adults.

Not only that, the boy's father was a gettin' in trouble. He was a magician. He had a magic wand. He could go 'Zoop! Zoop!' make things disappear.
Introduces the father of the boy who is a magician capable of making things disappear with his wand.

But the father played too many tricks on people. Somebody doing a hard job of work, 'zzt, zzt, zzt', up comes the father with his magic wand, 'Zoop!' no saw.
Explains how the father's misuse of his magic wand during people's work put him in trouble.

Come to someone about to drink a nice cold glass of something, 'Zoop!' the glass disappears, He'd come to someone about to sit down after a hard day's work, 'Zoopl' no chair.
Elaborates further on the father's antics, including making objects such as glasses and chairs disappear.

People said to the father, "You get out of here, too. Take your magic wand and your son!" The boy and his father were ostracized. That means they made them live on the edge of town.
Tells how the father and son were excluded from the town and forced to live on its outskirts due to their unpopularity.

Now in this town they used to tell stories.
Introduces that the town had a history of telling stories.

The old people used to tell stories about the giants that lived in the old days They used to tell a story about a giant called Abiyoyo.
Talks about a specific story that the old people in the town used to tell about a giant called Abiyoyo.

They said he was as tall as a house and could eat...people... up.
Elaborates further about the nature of the giant described in the story.

Of course, nobody believed it, but they told the story anyway.
Mentions how the tall tale about the giant was not taken seriously by people, despite it being passed on as a story.

One day, one day, the sun rose, blood red over the hill.
Describes the happenings of a particular day.

And the first people got up and looked out of their window, they saw a great big shadow in front of the sun. And they could feel the whole ground shake.
Continuation of the events of that day, describing the suspense felt due to a large shadow appearing and the sounds of the ground shaking.

'Stomp, stomp'. Women screamed, 'Ahh!' Strong men fainted "Ohh!" - "Run for your lives! Abiyoyo's coming!"
Further depicts the chaos, fear, and panic set in by the emergence of the giant Abiyoyo.

He came to the sheep pasture, grabs a whole sheep, 'Yeowp!' Comes to the cow pasture, grabs a whole cow, 'Yeowp!'
Illustrates how the giant Abiyoyo began to cause damage and destruction, as he picked up entire sheep and cows.

Daniel, "Grab your most precious possessions and run! Run!"
Tells how a person named Daniel advised others to flee and gather their valuable possessions.

Just then the boy and his father woke up "Hey, Paw, what's coming over the field?" - Oh, Son, that's Abiyoyo. Oh, if I could only get him to lie down, I could make him disappear."
Describes how the boy and his father became aware of the giant and the father recollected his power of making things disappear.

The boy said "Come with me, Father." He grabs his father by one hand. The father gets the magic wand, the boy gets the ukelele.
Narrates how the boy and his father decide to take action against Abiyoyo, and each picks up their respective tools.

They run across the field. People yelled, "Don't go near him! He'll eat you alive!"
Explains how people warned against approaching the giant Abiyoyo out of fear.

There was Abiyoyo. He had long fingernails cause he never cut 'em. Slobbery teeth, cause he didn't brush them. Stinking feet, 'cause he didn't wash 'em. He raised up with his claws, the boy whips out his ukelele and starts to sing.
Describes the giant's appearance and behavior while the boy begins to play his ukulele and sing to him.

Well, you know the giant had never heard a song about himself before, and a foolish grin spread over the giant's face.
Highlights how Abiyoyo reacts positively to hearing a song about himself for the first time.

And the giant started to dance "Abiyoyo, Abiyoyo, Abiyoyo," the boy went faster, "Abiyoyo, yoyoyo, yoyoyo. Abiyoyo, Abiyoyo, Abiyoyo, Abiyoyo, Abiyoyo," The giant got out of breath.
Envisages the giant dancing to the boy's music, which gets faster and more energetic.

He staggered. He fell down flat on the ground 'Zoop!, Zoop!' people looked out the window, Abiyoyo disappeared.
Identifies how the father finally used his power of making things disappear on Abiyoyo, who disappeared after falling down from his tiredness.

They ran across the fields. They lifted the boy and his father up on their shoulders. They said, "Come back to town. Bring your damn ukelele, we don t care anymore!" And they all sang:
Portrays the aftermath of the fight against Abiyoyo, where people come to support and ask the father and son to return while showing their appreciation for the ukulele music.

Abiyoyo, Abiyoyo, Abiyoyo, Abiyoyo
Repetition of the chorus line to end the song.