This is a terrible city.
   The people are cattle and swine.
   There isn't a girl I'd call pretty
   Or a friend that I'd call mine.
   And the only decent place on earth
   Is the town that gave me birth.
  
   You can keep your Athens,
   You can keep your Rome,
   I'm a hometown fellow
   And I pine for home,
   I wanna go back, go back
   To dear old Syracuse.
   Though I've worn out sandals
   And my funds are low,
   There's a light that's burning in the patio,
   I wanna go back, go back
   To dear old Syracuse.
   It is no metropolis,
   It has no big Acropolis,
   And yet there is a quorum
   Of cuties in the forum.
   Though the boys wear tunics that are out of style
   They will always greet me with a friendly smile.
   I wanna go back, go back
   To dear old Syracuse.
  
   Both the Nile and Danube
   Are a silly bore.
   I've a hometown river
   That assaults my door.
   I wanna go back, go back
   To dear old Syracuse.
   When a man is lonely
   It is good to know
   There's a red light burning in the patio.
   I wanna go back, go back
   To dear old Syracuse.
   Wives don't want divorces there,
   The men are strong as horses there,
   And should a man philander,
   The goose forgives the gander.
   When the search for love becomes a mania,
   You can take the night boat to Albania.
   I wanna go back, go back
   To dear old Syracuse.