Nelly the Elephant
The Tiny Boppers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A traveling circus came
They brought an intelligent elephant
And Nikki was her name
One dark night
She slipped her iron chain
And off she ran to Hindustan
And was never seen again
Ooooooooooooo...
Nikki the Elephant packed her trunk
And said goodbye to the circus
Off she went with a trumpety-trump
Trump, trump, trump
Nikki the Elephant packed her trunk
And trundled back to the jungle
Off she went with a trumpety-trump
Trump, trump, trump
Night by night
She danced to the circus band
When Nikki was leading the big parade
She looked so proud and grand
No more tricks
For Nikki to perform
They taught her how to take a bow
And she took the crowd by storm
The head of the herd was calling
Far, far away
They met one night in the silver light
On the road to Mandalay
So Nikki the Elephant packed her trunk
And said goodbye to the circus
Off she went with a trumpety-trum
Trump, trump, trump
Ooooooooooooo...
Nikki the Elephant packed her trunk
And said goodbye to the circus
Off she went with a trumpety-trump
Trump, trump, trump
Nikki the Elephant packed her trunk
And trundled back to the jungle
Off she went with a trumpety-trump
Trump, trump, trump
The Tiny Boppers’ “Nelly the Elephant” tells the story of an intelligent elephant named Nikki who was part of a traveling circus that visited Bombay (now Mumbai), India. Nikki eventually got tired of circus life and escaped one night by slipping off her iron chain, running away to Hindustan (India) never to be seen by the circus again.
Despite being hailed as an intelligent elephant, Nikki’s role in the circus was limited to performing tricks for the audience. However, with her newfound freedom, she traded in her circus life and made her way back to the jungle. She packed her trunk and said goodbye to the circus, trotting off with a trumpety-trump that was nothing like her former performance life.
The lyrics symbolize the struggle of confinement and the desire to be free, even for animals like an elephant in captivity. It also reflects the reality that animals in circuses are not free and can never truly live up to their full potential. Nikki sought to break free from her life in the circus, a situation that was holding her back.
Line by Line Meaning
To Bombay
The circus came to Bombay
A traveling circus came
A circus that moves from place to place came to town
They brought an intelligent elephant
The circus brought an elephant that was clever and well-trained
And Nikki was her name
The elephant's name was Nikki
One dark night
One night when it was dark
She slipped her iron chain
Nikki managed to escape from the chain that was holding her
And off she ran to Hindustan
Nikki ran away to Hindustan (India)
And was never seen again
Nikki was never seen by the circus again
Ooooooooooooo...
This is the chorus of the song
Nikki the Elephant packed her trunk
Nikki gathered her belongings and prepared to leave
And said goodbye to the circus
Nikki said farewell to the circus and the people who worked there
Off she went with a trumpety-trump
Nikki left with a triumphant trumpet sound
Trump, trump, trump
This is the sound of Nikki's trumpet
Night by night
Every night
She danced to the circus band
Nikki danced to the music played by the circus band
When Nikki was leading the big parade
Nikki was in charge of the main parade of the circus
She looked so proud and grand
Nikki looked very dignified and impressive
No more tricks
Nikki didn't have to do any more tricks
For Nikki to perform
There wasn't anything left for Nikki to do in the circus
They taught her how to take a bow
The circus people taught Nikki how to bow to the audience
And she took the crowd by storm
Nikki impressed the audience very much
The head of the herd was calling
The leader of the elephant herd was calling Nikki
Far, far away
At a great distance
They met one night in the silver light
One night, Nikki met the herd leader under the moonlight
On the road to Mandalay
They met on the road to Mandalay (a city in Myanmar)
Nikki the Elephant packed her trunk
Nikki gathered her belongings and prepared to leave
And said goodbye to the circus
Nikki said farewell to the circus and the people who worked there
Off she went with a trumpety-trum
Nikki left with a triumphant trumpet sound
Trump, trump, trump
This is the sound of Nikki's trumpet
Nikki the Elephant packed her trunk
Nikki gathered her belongings and prepared to leave
And trundled back to the jungle
Nikki went slowly back to the jungle
Off she went with a trumpety-trump
Nikki left with a triumphant trumpet sound
Trump, trump, trump
This is the sound of Nikki's trumpet
Contributed by Anthony L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.