IIRC from my biology book, the nerve for controlling the voice box goes from the brain, down to the heart, loops through the aortic arch over the heart and then goes back up to the voice box.

In giraffes this nerve can be 4 meters long.

The likely reason for this layout is that the nerve originally routed to the gills, which were on the height of the heart until the neck extended and the heart moved lower in the body.