Circus came to town, to the circus I went
Didn't have a ticket didn't have a cent
Circus man said "To see the show without a cent"
"You got to carry water for the elephant"
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I carried water for the elephant
Back and forth to the well I went
Arms got sore and my back got bent
But I couldn't fill up the elephant
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I says to the man with the standin' up collar
Bet four bits that elephant's a holla
He gave me a ticket, said "first You'll see"
"The animals in the menagerie"
First I saw the lion and the lion he roared: "A-Rrrrrrr"
Saw the wild duck and the wild duck quacked: "Quack, quack quack"
Saw the wild cat and the wild cat meowed: "Meow-ow"
Saw the old crow and the old crow cawed: "Caw caw caw"
Saw Mr. Possum sittin' on a limb, big black bear sittin next to him
Saw the old monkey like in a zoo, and the wild rooster says: "Cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo"
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Saw the hippopotamus splash in the water
Tryin' to flirt with the crocodiles daughter
saw the giraffe and the big kangaroo
Saw an owl holler: "Hoo hoo hoo"
Saw the wild birds and the birds sang sweet: "Tweet tweet tweet"
Saw the wild dogs and the wild dogs barked: "Arf arf arf"
Saw the cuckoo and the cuckoo cooed: "Cuckoo cuckoo"
Saw the hyena and the hyena laughed: "Ha ha ha"
I went down to the circus tent
Sure was doggone glad I went
Saw the whole show and didn't cost a cent
'Cause I carried water for the elephant
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