When I was three I went to Honolulu
Dad wore aloha shirts, Mom wore a mumu
The centipedes are all that I remember
I think I dropped my toy drum in the cinders
Down into the mouth of some volcano
Near Honolulu ...
Grandaddy used to fight in the Pacific fleet
Grandmother used to say the air was warm and sweet
But at last we had to go back to the States
Back to the land of nat'ral gas and rattlesnakes
Grandaddy stayed and opened up a laundry
In Honolulu ...
My Honolulu Grandad drove a Cadillac
He did card tricks then told us how the deck was stacked
He told us dirty jokes about the naval corps
And how one day the airplanes started up a war
And how he buried bodies in long trenches
In Honolulu
It used to be so nice
When he took us on his knee
And told us about that tropical paradise
It was all right ...

Someday I'm goin' back to Honolulu
I'll wear aloha shirts, she'll wear a mumu
Hawaii calls and who am I to stop it
I think I'll buy a new toy drum and drop it
Down into the mouth of some volcano
In Honolulu
Aloha oy, aloha boys, aloha toys
Until we meet again