Jambo

"Jambo, jambo means 'hello' in a happy kind of an African way. Jambo, jambo means 'let's go' have a happy kind of an African day!" I remember my brother and I used to watch this every Saturday morning when Saturday morning cartoons were king. The Groovy Goulies, Hotwheels, Skyhawks, Smokie the Bear etc. each Saturday morning. Jambo was not a cartoon but we liked it just the same. I still remember that theme song some 36 years later which shows how effective a catchy tune can be when advertising or promoting a product. The opening sequence featured scenes from each episode and I tried to keep track of each one I had seen as they went through them. Each episode featured a different animal and often focused on the plight of a particular species. If nothing else, I did learn that "Jambo" really does mean "hello" in African. Whether or not it's in a "happy kind of way" I guess is up to who says and/or hears it.

This Saturday morning live action show took place in Africa, and animals figured prominently in it. Unlike similar shows like "Daktari", "Flipper", "Gentle Ben", etc., this show wasn't all that interesting. It was more like watching a kid's version of "Wild Kingdom", but without much action. I also disliked this show because it ran opposite of reruns of "The Monkees" on CBS, and every once in awhile, my younger sister would make my mother force me to let her watch "Jambo".

Jumbo, Jumbo mean Hello in a kind of African way, Jumbo, Jumbo, mean lets go and have a happy African day; see the animals wild and free, don't it make it wish that you and me; sitting in the jungle all day long, and sing the happy Jumbo song.

Jumbo, Jumbo mean Hello in a kind of African way, Jumbo, Jumbo, mean lets go and have a happy African day; see the animals wild and free, don't it make it wish that you and me; sitting in the jungle all day long, and sing the happy Jumbo song.

Jumbo, Jumbo mean Hello in a kind of African way, Jumbo, Jumbo, mean lets go and have a happy African day; see the animals wild and free, don't it make it wish that you and me; sitting in the jungle all day long, and sing the happy Jumbo song. The screen said I needed to use 600 words.