John and Mitchy were gettin' kinda itchy   Just to leave their folk music behind   Zal and Denny workin' for a penny   Tryin' to get a fish on the line      In a coffee house Sebastian sat   And after every number they'd pass the hat   McGuinn and McGuire just a-gettin' higher in L.A.   You know where that's at   And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass      Zal he said, "Denny, you know there aren't many   Who can sing a song the way that you do, let's go South"   Denny said, "Zally, golly, don't you think that I wish   I could play guitar like you"      Zal, Denny, and Sebastian sat, at the Night Owl   And after every number they'd pass the hat   McGuinn and McGuire still a-gettin higher in L.A.   You know where that's at   And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass      When Cass was a sophomore, planned to go to Swarthmore   But she changed her mind one day   Standin' on the turnpike, thumb out to hitchhike   "Take me to New York right away"      When Denny met Cass, he gave her love bumps   Called John and Zal and that was the Mugwumps   McGuinn and McGuire couldn't get no higher   But that's what they were aimin' at   And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass      Mugwumps, high jumps, low slumps, big bumps   Don't you work as hard as you play   Make up, break up, everything is shake up   Guess it had to be that way      Sebastian and Zal formed the spoonful   Michelle, John, and Denny gettin' very tuneful   McGuinn and McGuire just a-catchin' fire in L.A.   You know where that's at   And everybody's gettin' fat except Mama Cass      Broke, busted, disgusted, agents can't be trusted   And Mitchy wants to go to the sea   Cass can't make it, she says, "We'll have to fake it"   We knew she'd come eventually      Greasin' on American Express cards   Tents low rent, but keepin' out the heat's hard   Duffy's good vibrations and our imaginations   Can't go on indefinitely   And California dreamin' is becomin' a reality