Nellie the Elephant

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This article is about the song. For the TV series, see Nellie the Elephant (TV series).

“Nellie the Elephant”

Single by Mandy Miller
B-side	It's Time To Dream
Released	October 1956
Format	7"
Recorded	London, 1956
Length	2:32
Label	Parlophone R4219
Writer(s)	Ralph Butler, Peter Hart
Producer	George Martin

Nellie the Elephant is a song written in 1956 by Ralph Butler and Peter Hart about a fictional intelligent elephant of the same name.^[1]

1 Original version
2 Later versions
3 Rhythm
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Original version

The original and most famous version, released on Parlophone R 4219 in October 1956^[2], was recorded by child actress Mandy Miller, with orchestra conducted by Phil Cardew^[3]. It was arranged by Ron Goodwin and produced by George Martin. Although never a hit single, it was played countless times on BBC national radio in the UK in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly on "Children's Favourites".

The chorus of the song goes:

Nellie the Elephant packed her trunk

And said goodbye to the circus

Off she went with a trumpety-trump

Trump, trump, trump

Children's author Jacqueline Wilson chose the song as one of her Desert Island Discs in October 2005.

[edit] Later versions

The song was thrust back in to the spotlight over Christmas 1984, when The Toy Dolls (who are from Ashbrooke, Sunderland) recorded an upbeat version of the track, which reached number four in the festive edition of the UK Singles Chart.

The Toy Dolls version was covered with different lyrics by the Spanish band Mägo de Oz with the title "Resacosix en Hispania". The Dutch band WC Experience also covered the song with Dutch lyrics and named it "Fritske d'n olifant".

In 2005, a new cover of the song was released by the band Captain Bogg and Salty, on their album, Peg-Leg Tango.

Also, in 2006, Crazy Frog released the More Crazy Hits album, with a remix of this song.

[edit] Rhythm

The rhythm and tempo of this song mean that it is often used to teach people the rhythm of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The recommended ratio for CPR is 30 chest compressions to two breaths. Singing this song twice, with one compression on each measure (bar) of the song, gives exactly 30 by the final "trump" of the second chorus.^{[citation needed]}