Lyrics:

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'

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

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'

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 am doggone glad I went
Saw the whole show and didn't cost a cent
'Cause I carried water for the elephant