It was in ancient history, four thousand B.C.
The events that are about to be described happened a very long time ago in human history.

Back up in the jungle in a coconut tree
The action takes place in a jungle where there is a coconut tree.

Hanging on a branch up under the sun
A monkey named Jo Jo Gunne hangs on a branch under the sun.

Was a meddlesome monkey named Jo Jo Gunne
The monkey's name is Jo Jo Gunne, and he is a troublemaker.

Old Leo the lion came down from the mountain
Leo, a lion that lives on a nearby mountain, comes down to the jungle where Jo Jo lives.

To get a drink of water from the jungle fountain
Leo is thirsty and wants to drink water from the jungle fountain.

Jo Jo the monkey started tellin' him jive
Jo Jo tries to talk Leo out of drinking from the fountain by lying to him.

About the elephant who was gonna skin him alive
Jo Jo tells Leo that there is an elephant nearby that will harm him.

Leo tried to reach and grab Jo Jo's tail
Leo attempts to capture Jo Jo by grabbing his tail.

Got mad and went roarin' through the jungle trail
However, Leo gets angry when Jo Jo evades him and roars as he continues through the jungle.

He ran upon an elephant beneath a tree
Leo encounters an elephant under a tree.

And said, put up your dukes you gotta tussle with me
Leo challenges the elephant to a fight, telling it to put up its fists.

An ol' eagle from Asia made a non stop flight
An eagle from Asia flies non-stop to watch the fight.

Tryin' to make it in time, just to see them fight
The eagle rushes to arrive in time to witness the battle.

A crocodile phoned and reversed the charge
A crocodile calls with reversed charges to listen to the fight.

Coming all the way from India on a local barge
The crocodile makes the long journey from India on a barge to attend the fight.

Ol' gorilla heard 'em talking in the lion's den
A gorilla overhears Leo and Jo Jo talking in Leo's home.

But Jo Jo bet him ten bucks the elephant wins
Jo Jo bets the gorilla that the elephant will win.

Jo Jo yelled at Leo, Go on, knock him down
Jo Jo encourages Leo to knock down the elephant.

He don't outweigh you but a thousand pounds
Jo Jo suggests that even though the elephant is much heavier than Leo, he is confident that Leo can beat him.

Leo left wailin' with a left upper cut
Leo hits the elephant with a left uppercut.

The elephant took his snoot and grabbed a coconut
In retaliation, the elephant uses his trunk to grab a coconut.

Leo fired a beautiful short back cross
Leo lands a nice short back cross.

That's when the coconut landed up against his jaw
At that moment, the elephant throws the coconut and it hits Leo in the jaw.

Leo grew tired, but he wouldn't give in
Despite being tired, Leo refuses to give up.

The elephant all loose, beat his jawbone in
The elephant, who was relaxed, hits Leo's jaw hard.

The buzzard said, they fought furious all day
A buzzard watching the fight says it was intense and had been going on all day.

He couldn't understand how Leo got away
The buzzard is amazed that Leo managed to escape alive.

Jo Jo runnin' everywhere, spreadin' the news
Jo Jo runs around telling everyone what happened in the fight.

To the zebras and the leopards and the kangaroos
He talks to many different kinds of animals.

A hoot owl reported everything he saw
Even an owl reports what happened in the fight.

Had his eyes wide open, they called it a draw
The owl concludes that the fight was a draw, with neither side truly winning.

Leo limping back with his jawbone bruised
Leo retreats to his home, limping with a bruised jaw.

Jo Jo in the trees started singin' the blues
Jo Jo is sad and upset, and starts singing a mournful song in the trees.

Laughin', meddling, jumpin' up and down
However, Jo Jo quickly recovers and begins laughing, meddling, jumping up and down again.

Till his foot missed a limb and he fell to the ground
Unfortunately, Jo Jo falls to the ground after missing a tree limb.

Just like a bolt of thunder and a streak of heat
Suddenly, Leo pounces on Jo Jo quickly and aggressively.

Leo covered Jo Jo with all four feet
Leo pins Jo Jo on the ground with all four paws.

Jo Jo was screamin' with tears in his eyes
Jo Jo starts to scream and cry in pain.

Said, please mister Leo, I apologize
In desperation, Jo Jo apologizes to Leo in hopes of being released.

Said, if you let my feet upon solid ground
If Leo lets him go, Jo Jo promises to fight him without any tricks and with both of their feet on the ground.

I'll fight you close range, fifteen rounds
Jo Jo challenges Leo to a close-range fight of fifteen rounds.

Leo got back to the square of the fight
Leo returns ready to fight Jo Jo once again.

Jo Jo took a leap and jumped out of sight
However, Jo Jo quickly jumps out of sight to avoid the fight, leaving Leo alone and frustrated.