Have you ever been down to haiti, when
the summer sun was sinkin' low
there's nothin' but romance, just everwhere you glance
and the native hearts are all a-glow
but when the cuban queen comes upon the scene
they all stare like a statue out of stone
and when they realize what's before their eyes
the other girls are left all alone.
Down in the caribbean, it's not a dream you're seein'
when you get a glimpse of the lady with the charm
but from miles away you can see her sway
to the beat of the cuban conga line that forms.
Up in a tree so high, way up in the sky
sits a wide-eyed monkey on a limb
he wonders why the people go to so much trouble
just to try to be like him
he doesn't understand, that it's a lady's hand
that makes a heart feel so sublime
but before too long, he starts singing the song
and then he gets in the conga line.
Columbus searched for spices, but he missed the nicest
part of the caribbean
he didn't see the charms and the open arms
it was the gold that he was seein'
oh, but i'm glad he missed, the sweetest thing i've kissed
'cause we're on our honeymoon
i'm so sorry chris, to talk about you like this
but you were five-hundred years too soon.