Has the rain a father
 
 Where does the hippo go?
 
 Do you speak from riddles
 
 His tail's like a cedar tree
 
 The tendons of his thighs like rope
 
 His bones like tubes of bronze
 
 Ribs like bars of iron
 
 And the mountains bring him food
 
 And he takes the shield of gold
 
  
  Loves the river like a father
 
 Where does the hippopotamus go?
 
 Underwater secret garden
 
 Bones like tubes of bronze, tubes of bronze
  
 
 The mountains bring him food
 
 And the spring rain falls around
 
 He waddles in the water
 
 And the mudholes in the ground
 
 The fat builds up around his neck
 
 And he only feeds at night
 
 He's running around in the water
 
 With tusk like swords of old
 
 And he takes the shield of gold
  
 
 Loves the river like a father
 
 Where does the hippopotamus go?
 
 Underwater secret garden
 
 Bones like tubes of bronze
  
 
 The birds sit on his back, pick off the bugs
 
 The sun beats down upon his ears, and all that mud
 
 And you don't make jokes if you're not as big as him
  
 
 Hippopotamus, hippopotamus, hippopotamus