You pick him up, you lick him down
Him bounce right back, what a hard man fe dead
You pick him up, you lick him down
Him bounce right back, what a hard man fe dead

Dem say that the cat got nine lives
Well this man got ninety-nine lives
Because you pick him up, you lick him down
Him bounce right back, what a hard man fe dead

Then while one caught a chocolate tea
And all the fried fish they caught in the sea
They also got six quarts of rum
Saying that they're waiting for the ninth life to come

The last time I heard them say that this man was dead
Dem buy a block of ice and them lay it all upon his head
Now the procession leads to the cemetery
The man holler out "Don't you bury me!"
You pick him up, you lick him down
Him bounce right back, what a hard man fe dead

Then while one caught a chocolate tea
And all the fried fish they caught in the sea
They also got six quarts of rum
Saying that they're waiting for the ninth life to come

The last time I heard them say that this man was dead
Dem buy a block of ice and them lay it all upon his head
You should see them going to the cemetery
The old man holler out "Don't you bury me!"
Them drop the box and run
What a whole lot of fun, what a hard man fe dead

You pick him up, you lick him down
Him bounce right back, what a hard man fe dead
You pick him up, you lick him down
Him bounce right back, I am a hard man fe dead