Philomena Muinzer recollects the recording session: "Recording the manic mix version (which we did first) was a complete nightmare. We recorded it at Sarm Studios, right before the first Band Aid single was recorded there. It had a state-of-the-art desk - I'll have to ask Colum - but it kept going wrong in the middle of the night. The studio had to keep giving us free studio time to compensate for the breakdowns, and the A & R man kept demanding the final product when we couldn't deliver for technical reasons. The studio had been a Synagogue a hundred years before, and our engineer, a very nice Irish guy named Dave Meeghan (who hadn't had a night's sleep in months) once saw a rabbi disappearing through a wall."
Get into the rhythm of the Hong Kong Swing.
Get into the rhythm of the Hong Kong Swing.
Get into the rhythm of the Hong Kong Swing;
You grab a little geisha and you have a little fling.
You do the dance they were doing way-back-when
And imagine you are dancing in a Shanghai den.
Get into the rhythm of the Hong Kong Swing;
You grab a little geisha and you have a little fling.
You do the dance they were doing way-back-when
And imagine you are dancing in a Shanghai den.
Chinamen are playing going dee-dee-dee
While you feet are tapping out a one-two-three.
Systems all around you are at Go-Go-Go;
It's the Mandaronic rhythm of the quick-quick-slow
Get into the rhythm of the Hong Kong Swing;
You grab a little geisha and you have a little fling.
You do the dance they were doing way-back-when
And imagine you are dancing in a Shanghai den.
If your feet can find the rhythm but they don't know where to go
Just push it, push it, don't say no.
You never know if you can do it if you never had a try
And you'll never know the reason if you don't ask why.
Get into the rhythm of the Hong Kong Swing;
You grab a little Geisha then you have a little fling.
You do the dance they were doing way-back-when
And imagine you are dancing in a Shanghai den.
Hari-kari, kamikaze, sayonara, Ming,
Sweet and sour, oolong, Hong Kong Swing.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong, swing to me
When a little geisha bring you oolong tea.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong, swing to me
They do it in New York (with sweet and sour pork?)
Somebody is beating out a rom-tom-tosh
It simply leaves you speachless and you both say "Gosh!"
Don't take it lightly, hold on tightly, don't say know.
It's the Mandaronic rhythm with the quick-quick-slow
Get into the rhythm of the Hong Kong Swing;
You grab a little geisha then you have a little fling.
You do the dance they were doing way-back-when
And imagine you are dancing in a Shanghai den.
Hari-kari, kamikaze, sayonara, Ming,
Sweet and sour, oolong, Hong Kong Swing
Here's a little so-ong that you all should know
It will set your pulse a-racing when you heart beats slow.
Guaranteed to ? you when you shake your head
Chris Shawe & Zak: Guaranteed to tap your feet and shake your head
Chris Shawe: Certify it's strong enough to wake the dead.
Chris Shawe: Lessers of the line will be ascended for
Zak: Let us all remind what we have said before
Chris Shawe: Don't take it lightly Hong-Pang, don't you know,
Chris Shawe: To the mandaronic rhythm with the quick-quick-slow
Get into the rhythm of the Hong Kong Swing;
You grab a little Geisha then you have a little fling.
You do the dances they were doing way-back-when
And imagine you are dancing in a Shanghai den.
Get into the rhythm of the Hong Kong Swing;
You grab a little Geisha then you have a little fling.
Mama, Papa, don't say no
To the mad neurotic rhythm with the quick-quick-slow
Join a ? ? ? going Beep-Beep-Beep
Chris Shawe: Chinamen a playing going Ki Ki Ki
Zak: Chinamen a playing going dee-dee-dee
Hari-kari, kamikaze, sayonara, Ming,
Sweet and sour, oolong, Hong Kong Swing
Hong Kong, Hong Kong, swing to me
While a little Geisha bring you oolong tea.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong, swing to me
They do it in New York (with sweet and sour pork?)
If your feet move to the rhythm but they don't know where to go
Just push it, push it, don't say no.
You don't ? ? ? ? ? don't let go.
Chris Shawe: People all around you are a go-go-go
Zak: You don't take it lightly ? ? don't let go.
Get into the rhythm of the Hong Kong Swing.
You grab a little Geisha then you have a little fling.
You do the dances they were doing way-back-when
And imagine you are dancing in a Shanghai den.
Get into the rhythm of the Hong Kong Swing.
You grab a little Geisha then you have a little fling.
Mama, Papa, don't say no
To the mad neurotic rhythm with the quick-quick-slow