Gato Negro

Lend me your ears and stick around
My tale will tantalize and astound
Gato Negro and his Afro-Cuban sounds

Gato Negro was a swinging cat
He lived in an alley in Spanish Harlem, they say
Life was hard and he was far from fat
He said to himself, "There must be a better way"

He tried to play baseball, but he could not hit
He did not like the danger of gangsters and punks
But there was music playing in his head
So he banged out a rhythm on a pile of alley junk

Gato Negro, Gato Negro
And his Afro-Cuban Sound

The word went out about his tambourine
About the crazy cat who would rat-a-tat-tat all night
The cucarachas came and made the scene
Dancing a mambo under the Harlem moonlight

Sammy the dog came with his trombone
And Tito Puente played his timbale
Machito came and sang his song
All night there was dancing in the alley

Gato Negro, Gato Negro
And his Afro-Cuban Sound

The drums and congas played their Afro beat
There was the sound of laughter and the moving of feet
The trumpets played their jazz refrain
And every night everyone came back again

All the pigeons flew in from Harlem and Queens
The rats pulled up in their limousines
The dogs and the cats came from all over town
To dance through the night to his Afro-Cuban sound

Gato Negro, Gato Negro
And his Afro-Cuban Sound
Gato Negro, Gato Negro
And his Afro-Cuban Sound