"The Elephant Song" is a song written by

Roger Woddis Roger Woddis (17 May 1917 – 16 July 1993) was a British writer and humorous poet. One of his most famous poems, ''Ethics for Everyman'', deals with double-morality of ethical principles. His early writing career included some involvement with ...

, Gregor Frenkel-Frank and

Hans van Hemert Hans van Hemert (born 7 April 1945 in Voorburg, Netherlands) is a Dutch ASCAP award-winning record producer and songwriter. Mouth & MacNeal and Luv' are among the pop acts he produced. He also composed three songs for the Eurovision Song Contest ...

. It was recorded by

Kamahl Kandiah Kamalesvaran ( ta, கந்தையா கமலேஸ்வரன்; born 13 November 1934), better known by his stage name Kamahl, is a Malaysian-born Australian singer and recording artist. His highest charting Australian single, ...

in 1975, becoming a major hit song. The song became an anthem for the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...

. As of August 1978, "The Elephant Song" was the highest selling record in the history of Sweden.

Lyrics

The song is about an elephant who tries to warn people to stop killing animals. During a

parlando Recitative (, also known by its Italian name "''recitativo''" ()) is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat ...

the elephant delivers his message that "man and beast must work together" and "together (...) will survive".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elephant Song 1975 songs 1975 singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Number-one singles in Belgium Songs written by Hans van Hemert Kamahl songs Songs about animal rights Songs about elephants Songs about hunters Environmental songs