Thanks so much for the 2nd set of lyrics that Ann posted. These are much closer to the ones my mom sang to us when we were kids than the first set. She would entertain us on long car rides with this song and many others. She performed "Elmer and the Bear" when she was a child in the early 1950's at a talent show at the local theater between movies showings on Saturday afternoons. She even won some free movie tickets!! She passed away in January 2006 and this song will always be one of my fondest memories. I wanted to have her record some of the songs she sang for us, but didn't get the chance, so coming across these lyrics was truly wonderful!   Glad to see so many others enjoyed this song, too.