All the songs in 'Water for Elephants' on Broadway

Sara Gruen's bestselling historical romance novel about a young man who runs away with a traveling circus is now a seven-time Tony Award-nominated musical.

Water for Elephants on Broadway is not just a story about the circus — it brings to circus to life with acrobatics, tricks, and old-fashioned circus music inspired by the 1930s, when the show is set. Based on Sara Gruen's historical romance novel, Water for Elephants sees the elderly Jacob Jankowski reflecting on his younger days, when he ran away with the circus and found a family, love, and an unexpected career.

The musical, running at the Imperial Theatre and nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, features original music by the seven-man folk band PigPen Theatre Co.

"We listened to a lot of music from the time period," said PigPen member Matt Nuernberger. Added bandmate Curtis Gillen, "You might see a guy playing a violin or scratching a washboard, but then [you're] stepping into a nightclub in Chicago and hearing lush jazz or a big band."

Learn more about the musical numbers in Water for Elephants and how they incorporate circus acts, dazzling puppets, and more.

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“Anywhere/Another Train”

When veterinary school student Jacob Jankowski's parents have died in a tragic accident, he decides to drop out and hop a train to anywhere it will take him. This wasn’t an uncommon practice in 1931, when the Great Depression drove many Americans to seek a new life. “Why hang your head and cry? There’s miles and miles of sky,” Jacob sings. “My heart is anywhere but home.”

It turns out that the train he hops is carrying the Benzini Brothers Circus, the “most spectacular show on earth.” In theory, that is.

"This is a circus that's on its last leg," Nuernberger said. "Nobody's getting paid, and the animals are eating rancid food. It's not necessarily a big, blaring, shiny circus. The band has just a couple of players in it."

Nonetheless, the sequence hints at the incredible acrobatics to come as Jacob tries to balance on top of the train car.

“The Road Don’t Make You Young”

This bluegrass-inspired number features a harmonica, banjo, and fiddle as the circus crew waxes about their life and work on the road. “Ain’t it so, the road don’t make you young,” they sing. “No, you don’t get any prettier when you’re toilin’ in the sun.”

The number also introduces Jacob to circus life as the crew travels from city to city, and it introduces the audience to more members of the Benzini Brothers team.

“Easy”

Horse whisperer Marlena fears that her prized horse, Silver Star, may die after working too hard on a bad leg. In this ballad, Marlena coaxes Silver Star to sleep, hoping he will feel better in the morning: “Don’t think about the pain, and the pain goes away.”

Silver Star’s struggles are performed an aerial silks sequence, while drums and cymbals represent the horse’s anxious hooves.

“The Lion Has Got No Teeth”

In this song, August, the Benzini Brothers ringmaster and Marlena’s husband, reveals to Jacob that much of the circus relies on illusions — or, more plainly, on “lies, lies, lies, lies.”

August also hints at a darker reality of the circus that the veterinarian is surprised to learn. Animal cruelty is abundant, as the lion really did have his teeth pulled so he won’t hurt the trainers or performers. The safety of the animals plays a crucial role in Water for Elephants and in Jacob and Marlena’s lives, especially as August forces Silver Star to work until he must be humanely put down.

“I Choose The Ride”

Circus worker Camel sings of how the traveling circus life invites in stragglers who have lost their loved ones or have nowhere else to turn. He encourages Jacob, “If you have somewhere to go back to, you should go.” But of course, Jacob has lost his family and the circus has become his chosen family: “I choose the circus," he sings. "I choose the ride.”

“Ode to an Elephant”

Finally, we meet our title character, Rosie the elephant, “gray and graceful.” This sequence, though uses shadow play to hint at Rosie’s grandeur — it doesn’t yet reveal Rosie in all her glory.

Jacob and his older self, as well as Marlena and August, are in awe of Rosie, the huge and magnificent creature who they hope will save the circus: “And her eyes, her beautiful amber eyes, are telling me what’s inside.”

"There's lots of different types of love in the show," said PigPen's Ryan Melia, and this song is one example. "There's the love of animals, the reverence in the way Jacob and Marlena treat Rosie; that's done musically in ways. And then there's the ways that Marlena and Jacob can't say what they want to say."

“Just Our Luck”

August and the rest of the Benzini Brothers crew are thrilled to have found Rosie in the “right place, right time” and made her the star of their new show. Now, their “future’s rosy” as long as the elephant listens to her trainers.

“I Shouldn’t Be Surprised”

Marlena expresses her fears now that August has suspected the budding romance between his wife and Jacob. The elder Mr. Jankowski sings with her, reflecting on his feelings for her as a younger man.

"There are moments in the score for this show that are extremely intimate," Nuernberger said of the show's love songs. "We keep peeling away — like, we just need the lyric and this instrument to really feel that connection."

“Silver Stars”

As Jacob realizes his love for the circus parallels his love for Marlena, he fears that he won’t be able to keep it inside him. “Just keep your lips tight,” he tells himself. Not only is Marlena his colleague, but she’s also married to Jacob’s boss, and his situation grows even more dangerous.

This song’s title is an ode to Silver Star, Marlena’s prized stallion whose death leaves her emotionally shattered.

“The Grand Spec”

The Benzini Brothers Circus theme recurs in the Act 1 finale as August draws another audience into the show: “You wanna see something? To set your spine tingling? Something that blows Ringling out of the ring?” he sings, referring to the Ringling Bros. Circus (now combined with Barnum & Bailey Circus).

As the acrobats and other performers gear up for their acts, the audience finally gets to meet the full puppet Rosie (operated by multiple ensemble members). The reveal of designers Ray Wetmore and JR Goodman and Camille Labarre’s puppet is worth the wait.

This full-out circus number features some of the show's richest circus sound. "Our drummer, Mike Dobson, has an enormous facility of noisemaking equipment, and he's actually accompanied circuses in the past," said PigPen's Dan Weschler of how that sound comes to life. "He has a lot of slide whistles and bells and things that go 'boing.'"

“Funny Angel”

Though sung by Mr. Jankowski, this song is Marlena and Rosie’s number in their new act for the circus, portraying Rosie as an unusual choice for a person’s affections. “Your robes ain’t white, just a pale shade of gray. Your ears are too big, or your halo’s too small.”

Marlena teaches Rosie some basic moves for the number, but she struggles to teach her more advanced maneuvers until Jacob makes a certain discovery.

“Zostań”

Polish for “stay,” this celebratory number occurs after Jacob has realized that Rosie understands training commands in Polish. It’s perfect luck that the son of Polish immigrants has become the vet to a circus elephant whose original owner was Polish.

“Stop, stop, stop and listen,” Jacob sings to both Rosie and the circus audience. As the crew sings in Polish, they recall how August’s harsher approach to disciplining Rosie failed. All the elephant needed was patience and compassion.

“Squeaky Wheel”

Camel, dancer Barbara, and clown Walter warn Jacob against acting on his obvious feelings for Marlena. Though they're wary of her wellbeing with the volatile August, they’re more concerned for their own futures. “Don’t make a spectacle: Be a respectable employee.” If August finds out about what’s going on between Jacob and Marlena, there’s no telling how he could ruin the circus.

“You’ve Got Nothing”

After realizing Jacob and Marlena have feelings for each other (and suspecting they’ve been acting on them), August gives Wade the signal to evict Jacob, Camel, and Walter from the train, but he takes it one step further in his anger.

He tells Wade to throw them off the train over a bridge, playing on Wade’s insecurities to convince him to follow orders: “You don’t get friends, Wade. You get hungry, Wade. You get tired and sick for the bottle that you can’t afford.” He then forces Wade to repeat, “I am nothing without you.”

Jacob is luckily absent from the train car and is thus spared, but Walter and Camel aren't so lucky.

“What Do You Do?”

In this song, a pensive Marlena recalls running away with August and the circus as a younger woman. She wonders what to do now that her husband has become a violent man and she’s fallen in love with Jacob. “Do I follow what I’m feeling?” she sings. “Or could this just be life repeating?”

“Wild”

“Wild” is Marlena and Jacob’s love song as they run away together, singing passionately in a hotel room. “When I’m with you, you make me feel wild,” they sing in an ode to the wild animals running free from the circus.

"There are elements of love and circus in all the songs," said PigPen's Alex Falber, and "Wild" is a prime example.

“Go Home”

In a haunting number, Jacob sings of his lost family and the life he left behind, his love for Marlena, and his contempt for August. “What do you do when the people that you love are torn from you, and there’s nothing you can do?”

He contemplates killing the ringmaster for the pain August has inflicted on Marlena, but decides against it at the last moment.

“Finale (I Choose The Ride)”

After a fatal animal stampede, Jacob and Marlena decide to build a life together with Rosie. Meanwhile, the elder Mr. Jankowski gets to “choose the circus” all over again when he finishes telling his tale to two workers at the present-day circus — who ask Mr. Jankowski to join them.

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Gillian Russo contributed reporting to this story.

Photo credit: Water for Elephants on Broadway. (Photos by Matthew Murphy)