Kung Fu Fighting

Carl Douglas



Bruce Lee


Kung Fu Panda




Everybody was kung-fu fighting
Those cats were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit frightning
But they fought with expert timing

They were funky China men from funky Chinatown
They were chopping them up and they were chopping them down
It's an ancient Chineese art and everybody knew their part
From a feint into a slip, and kicking from the hip

Everybody was kung-fu fighting
Those cats were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit frightning
But they fought with expert timing

There was funky Billy Chin and little Sammy Chung
He said here comes the big boss, lets get it on
We took a bow and made a stand, started swinging with the hand
The sudden motion made me skip now we're into a brand knew trip

Everybody was kung-fu fighting
Those cats were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit frightning
But they did it with expert timing

(repeat)..make sure you have expert timing
Kung-fu fighting, had to be fast as lightning

"Kung Fu Fighting" is a song written and performed by Carl Douglas and Vivian Hawke, and produced by Biddu. It was released as a single in 1974, at the cusp of a chopsocky film craze, and quickly rose to the top of British and American charts. "Kung Fu Fighting" was also number one on the soul singles chart for one week.[1] The song also is famous for its use of the quintessential Oriental Riff, a short musical phrase that is used to signify Chinese culture.
It originally was meant to be a B-side to I Want to Give You My Everything by Brooklyn songwriter Larry Weiss, and was recorded in the last ten minutes of his studio time.[2][3] This song has been featured prominently in pop culture including Mott's Clamato advertisements.
Douglas states that his inspiration to write the song was affected by three factors: he had seen a kung fu movie, later visited a jazz concert by Oscar Peterson, and was suffering from side-effects of pain killers (Douglas had injured his foot playing football).[4] Another account gives his inspiration simply as seeing two kids in London doing kung fu moves.[2]
Kung Du Fighting was rated #100 in VH1's "100 Greatest one-hit wonders, and number 1 in the UK Channel 4's Top 10 One Hit Wonders list in 2000, the same channel's 50 Greatest One Hit Wonders poll in 2006 and Bring Back ... the one-hit Wonders, for which Carl Douglas performed the song in a live concert.