By the old moulmein pagoda Looking eastward to the sea There's a burma gal a settin' And I know that she waits for me
And the wind is in those palm trees And the temple bells they say Come you back you mother soldier Come you back to mandalay, come you back to mandalay
Come you back to mandalay Where the old flotilla lay Can't you hear those paddles chonkin' From rangoon to mandalay
On the road to mandalay Where the flying fishes play And the dawn comes up like thunder Out of china across the bay
Ship me somewhere east of suez Where the best is like the worst And there ain't no ten commandments And a cat can raise a thirst
And those crazy bells keep ringing 'cause it's there that I long to be By the egg foo yong pagoda Looking eastward to the see