A little boy called Phundu sat alone in a hut
Looking after the cooking pot
Father was working late in the field
Soon to come home for the evening meal

Suddenly Mr Hyena was there
Giving Phundu a terrible scare
He said "I'll eat you alive
If you tell on me
But if you give me food
I'll let you go free

Oowe the Hyena always looks down
Walking along with his head on the ground
He never looks left and he never looks right
But he oowe, oowes all through the night

Phundu's father came home very hungry and tired
But no food was left in the pot on the fire
He saw little Phundu was shaking with freight
And Mr Hyena had been there that night

So the very next night
A trap had been set
And Mr Hyena fell right into it
He came through the door
Put his head in the pot
Phundu's father's big club
Then knocked him right out

Oowe the Hyena always looks down
Walking along with his head on the ground
He never looks left and he never looks right
But he oowe, oowes all through the night

Then they took a thin log
Shaped like a V
On the hyena's back
They tied it you see

With his head in the fork
And the log on his back
Set him off on his way
Down the forest track

So when you see a hyena walking along
Always remember the words of this song
The log made hyenas look like they do
And that's why they oowe, oowe, oo

Oowe the Hyena always looks down
Walking along with his head on the ground
He never looks left and he never looks right
But he oowe, oowes all through the night