The Gay Caballero Oh I am a gay caballero Going to Rio Janiero With nice oily hair, And full of hot air, I'm an expert at shooting the bull-eo I'll find me a fair senorita Not thin and yet not too much meat-a. I'll woo her a while In my Argentine style And sweep her right off of her feet-a I'll tell her I'm of the nobilio And live in a great big castillio. I must have a miss Who will long for a kiss And not say "Oh don't be so silly-io. It was at a gay cabaretta While wining and dining I met her. We had one or two As other folks do. The night was wet but we got wetter. She was a dancer and singer At me she kept pointing her finger And saying to me "Si, Senor, Si Si" But I couldn't see a durn thing-er She told me her name was Estrella. She said, "stick around me, young fella For mosquitos they bite And they're awful tonight And you smell just like citronella." She told me that she was so lonely So I climbed upon her balcony. While under her spell I heard someone yell "Get away from here you big baloney." I swore I would win this senorita I woo'ed her on the sofita Then her husband walked in What he did was a sin. I can still hear the birds sing "Tweet tweet-a" Oh I am a sad caballero Returning from Rio Janierio Minus my hair, With a bruise here and there, And her husband he bit off my ear-o. Note: I learned this song from a phonograph record circa 1929 while going to Alaska on a a ship carrying a crew to a salmon cannery in Chignik Bay on the Aleutian Penninsula. I have only met one other person in the last 67 years who even recognized it. This was a man I encountered in a piano bar in San Francisco, who knew and sang all the verses. The piano player faked the tune, after we hummed a few bars! I thought it deserved a chance at being preserved, so am sending it to you. If I can I will try to reconstruct the melody and send it at a later date. BW BW oct97
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!