Now if you've ever been down to New Orleans
Then you can understand just what I mean
All through the week it's quiet as a mouse
And on Saturday night they go from house to house

You don't have to pay the usual admission
If you're a cook, a waiter or a good musician
So if you happen to be just passin' by
Stop in at the Saturday Night Fish Fry

It was rockin', it was rockin'
You never seen such scufflin' and shufflin' 'til the break of dawn
It was rockin', it was rockin'
You never seen such scufflin' and shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

Now my buddy and me was on the main stem
Foolin' around just me and him
We decided we could use a little something to eat
So we went to a house on Rampart Street

We knocked on the door and it opened with ease
And a lush little Miss said, "Come in, please"
Before we could even bat an eye
We were right in the middle of a big fish fry

It was rockin', it was rockin'
You never seen such scufflin' and shufflin' 'til the break of dawn
It was rockin', it was rockin'
You never seen such scufflin' and shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

Now the folks was havin' the time of their life
Sam was jivin' Jimmie's wife
Over in the corner was a beat up grand
Being played by a big fat piano man

Now some of these folks wore expensive frocks
Some of them had on bobbie socks
Everybody was nice and high
At particular Saturday Night Fish Fry

It was rockin', it was rockin'
You never seen such scufflin' and shufflin' 'til the break of dawn
It was rockin', it was rockin'
You never seen such scufflin' and shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

Now my buddy and me, we fell right in
We hollered, "Let the joy begin"
Now we're thinking we could get a good place to play
But the party was already on the way

All of a sudden the lights went low
And everybody lay straight for the front door
Man, I was so scared I didn't know where to go
I stood right there and I fell on the floor

It was rockin', it was rockin'
I never seen such scufflin' and shufflin' 'til the break of dawn
It was rockin', it was rockin'
I never seen such scufflin' and shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

Now the women was screamin' and jumpin' and yellin'
The bottles was flyin', and the fish was smellin'
Way up above all the noise we made
Somebody hollered, "You better get outta here, this is a raid"

I didn't know we was breaking the law
But somebody reached over and hit me on the jaw
They had us blocked off from front to back
They was puttin' 'em in the wagon like potatoes in a sack

It was rockin', it was rockin'
You never seen such scufflin' and shufflin' 'til the break of dawn
It was rockin', it was rockin'
I never seen such scufflin' and shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

I knew I could get away if I had a chance
But I was shakin' like I had that St. Vitus dance
I tried to crawl in under a bath tab
When a policeman said, "Where are you goin' there, bub?"

Now they got us out of there like a house on fire
They put us all in the black Maria
They might have missed a pitiful few
But they got both me and my buddy too

It was rockin', it was rockin'
You never seen such scufflin' and shufflin' 'til the break of dawn
It was rockin', it was rockin'
You never seen such scufflin' and shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

Well we headed for jail in a dazed condition
They booked each one of us on suspicion
My chick came down and went my bail
And finally got me outta that rotten jail

If you ever want to get a fist in your eye
Just mention a Saturday Night Fish Fry
I don't care how many fish in the sea
But don't ever mention a fish to me

It was rockin', it was rockin'
You never seen such scufflin' and shufflin' 'til the break of dawn
It was rockin', it was rockin'
You never seen such scufflin' and shufflin' 'til the break of dawn