In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Well, he feels like an elephant
Shakin' his big grey trunk for the hell of it
He knows that you're dreamin' about being loved by him
Too bad your chances are slim
And it's not like Mister Shuck
To get shy when they ask him who is on top
There must be something deep down in the dark down there
He's not too easily scared
He's got friends but they got the fear
Wouldn't care too much if he just disappeared
Oh, look, hey, there he is now coming down the stairs
(Here he comes)
He pulled the mirrors off his Cadillac (yeah)
'Cause he doesn't like it looking like he looks back
He talks like his opinion is a simple fact
Somebody grabbed his collar
He cried the whole way home
No one remembered a thing when they saw him again
That's how it is 'til the end
(Yeah)
Shakin' his big grey trunk for the hell of it
He knows that you're dreamin' about being loved by him
Too bad your chances are slim
And it's not like Mister Shuck
To get shy when they ask him who is on top
There must be something deep down in the dark down there
He's not too easily scared
He's got friends but they got the fear
Wouldn't care too much if he just disappeared
Oh, look, hey, there he is now coming down the stairs
(Here he comes)
He pulled the mirrors off his Cadillac (yeah)
'Cause he doesn't like it looking like he looks back
He talks like his opinion is a simple fact
Somebody grabbed his collar
He cried the whole way home
No one remembered a thing when they saw him again
That's how it is 'til the end
(Yeah)
Lyrics submitted by annieorangetree, edited by okthanks, je553454
Elephant Lyrics as written by Kevin Parker Jay Watson
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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It's a song about someone with a big ego - someone who feels as big and strong and important as an elephant. Someone without humility.
In our age, that also may mean someone with lots of money, hence the references to Cadillac and collar.
Funny enough, after the lyrics "he is now coming down the stairs", you can hear a noisy, "fat" descending sound (at 1:07 and again at 2:42), sounding like a theme from Money, by Pink Floyd (a song with lyrics related to these).
I love the way they use distorted, clumsy sounds to represent musically that kind of character. That's synesthesia.
go synaesthetes! ;)
After listening to the rest of Lonerism, one would know that the album is about the loneliness of the writer. This song, however, is sharp contrast to that theme. In Elephant, he describes a man who "You know you're dreaming about being loved by".
This man is very outgoing, loved by some, and envied by about everybody else. And he is described by the lyric of the year in my opinion, "He pulled the mirrors off his Cadillac/'Cause he doesn't like it looking like he looks back". But this enviable man is simply not real.
This man is who we all aspire to be. The man of which we all love and love to hate at the same time. We all share the common desire to please fellow human beings. And this song is about the man who lives the dream to do such a thing. We all wish we had the money to afford to rip mirrors off a Cadillac and be described in this way. A loner isn't a person who lives like this, but he does dream like it which is how I have formed my opinion of the song. Overall, awesome song and album!!
'Bet' he 'feels like' an elephant ... He’s got friends but they got the feeling Wouldn't care too much if he just disappeared ... Somebody grabbed his collar He cried the whole way home
Making fun of people who think the whole world revolves around them, but no matter how much they posture, no one cares about them, and they aren't really all that powerful.
He won’t remember a thing 'til it starts again That’s how it is 'til the end (yeah)
But he never learns his lesson, he's blind to all else except his own image of himself.
"Too bad it just is a sin" I hear "Too bad your chances are slim"
I found more mistakes is text thanks to friend...
Too bad your cances are slim Whom would not care too much if he just dissapeared He won´t remember a thing and then it started again
Synesthesya yay
About the cover album; i like to imagine that i'm the elephant behind those bars while hear whole Lonerism.
thx Noel Fielding <3
and... "Oh, by the way...wich one is pink?"
agree it is about someone with a big ego , but at the same time its saying by being such a big head you just generate resentment and alienation onto yourself.. The 'elephant' need everything they say to be treated as gospel but at the same time there is a desperation to this craving. Its basically song about your boss - even though they are a total cock and probably won't change they are proably far more lonely and wretched than you are!
The bit where it says "he pulled the mirrors off his Cadillac cause he doesn't like it looking like he looks back" sounds similar to the lyrics of arctic monkeys 'the blond-o-sonic shimmer trap' , where it says "and she snapped wing mirrors off a Cadillac, a particularly pretty one, and it meant that she never had to strain her back when she was putting her lippy on"
They sound quite similar and have similar meanings of a person with a large ego
I'm sure it's going to be revelatory when the official lyrics are shown, as I found multiple places that all had different lyrics. Whether a few different words or phrases to entirely different stanzas, it was all varied. So I won't submit my own interpretations or guesses, but before the full album arrives in October 2012 I'm interested in the final report.
big ego dude who has a macho bisexual/homosexual slant towards his life. interplay between speaker and referent
speaker is not ashamed by his bisexuality : Bet he feels like an elephant Shaking his big grey trunk for the hell of it You know that you're dreaming about being loved by him Too bad your chances are slim
And it’s not like Mr. Shock To get shy when I ask who always is on top? There must be something deep down in the middle down there He’s not too easily scared