I was surrounded by a large hippopotamus
And nine of its friends who declared quite a lot of us
Are feeling rather blue
And we don't know what to do
I turned away but the large hippopotamus
Said that his pit of despair appeared bottomless
Yet hippopotami
Are not supposed to cry
I said "My, my
Other people's problems do get tedious by and by
My, my
You can never solve them no matter how hard you try."

This brought a tear from the large hippopotamus
Who said in a voice that was growing monotonous
You cannot get the sense
Of how it feels to be immense
The sleek and the slim make fun of a lot of us
And creatures who fly through the air sit on top of us
Even in the pool
We are faced with ridicule
I said "My, my
Other people's problems do get tedious by and by
My, my
You can never solve them no matter how hard you try."
I came back as a large hippopotamus