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