[Verse 1]
I don't smoke, I don't shoot smack
But I got a spicy monkey ridin' on my back
Don't eat beignets, too much sugar and dough
But I will play for gumbo
Yes, I will play for gumbo

[Verse 2]
It started in my grandma's, in her kitchen by the sea
She warned me when where she told me, "Son, the first one's free"
It hit me like a rock or some Taekwondo
'Cause I will play for gumbo
Oh yeah, I will play for gumbo

[Chorus]
A piece of French bread with which to wipe my bowl
Good for the body, good for the soul
It's a little like religion and a lot like sex
You should never know when you're gonna get it next

[Refrain]
From midnight in the Quarter to noon in Thibodaux
I will play for gumbo, yes, I will play for gumbo

[Verse 3]
I'm not talking quesadillas or a dozen Krispy Kreme's
Or a pile of caviar, that's a rich man's dream
No banana split or filet of pompano
No, I will play for gumbo
Yeah, I will play for gumbo
[Chorus]
A piece of French bread with which to wipe my bowl
Good for the body, good for the soul
It's a little like religion and a lot like sex
You should never know when you're gonna get it next

[Verse 4]
It could be it's that sausage or those pretty pink shrimp
Or that popcorn rice that makes me blow up like a blimp
Maybe it's that voodoo from Marie Laveau
But I will play for gumbo
Yeah, I will play for gumbo

[Verse 5]
The sauce boss does his cookin' on the stage
Stirrin' and a-singin' for his nightly wage
Sweating and a frettin' from his head to his toe
Playin' and swayin' with the gumbo
Prayin' and buffetin' with the gumbo

[Chorus]
A piece of French bread with which to wipe my bowl
Good for the body, good for the soul
It's a little like religion and a lot like sex
You should never know when you're gonna get it next
[Refrain]
From midnight in the Quarter to noon in Thibodaux
I will play for gumbo, I will play for gumbo

[Outro]
Playin' and buffetin' for my gumbo
Yeah, I will play for gumbo