Éléphant
Jason Isbell Lyrics

She said, "Andy, you're better than your past"
She complimented Andy for overcoming his troubled past.

Winked at me and drained her glass
She flirted with him and finished her drink.

Cross-legged on a barstool, like nobody sits anymore
She sat on the barstool in a relaxed manner, as if it were unusual to see someone sit that way.

She said, "Andy, you're taking me home"
She asked Andy to escort her home.

But I knew she planned to sleep alone
He knew that she intended to be alone when they got to her house.

I'd carry her to bed, sweep up the hair from her floor
He would help carry her to bed and clean up the hair from the floor.

If I'd fucked her before she got sick
If they had slept together before she became ill,

I'd never hear the end of it
she would always bring it up in conversation.

She don't have the spirit for that now
She no longer has the energy or desire for sexual activity.

We just drink our drinks and laugh out loud
They enjoy their drinks and laughter together.

And bitch about the weekend crowd
They complain about the weekend bar patrons.

And try to ignore the elephant somehow
They attempt to avoid confronting the difficult reality of her illness.

She said, "Andy, you crack me up"
She found Andy to be funny.

Seagram's in a coffee cup
She was drinking Seagram's from a coffee mug.

Sharecropper eyes, and the hair almost all gone
Her eyes resembled those of a sharecropper, and she had lost most of her hair.

When she was drunk, she made cancer jokes
When she was intoxicated, she joked about her cancer.

Made up her own doctors' notes
She created her own fake medical notes to justify her absences.

Surrounded by her family, I saw that she was dying alone
She was surrounded by her family, but Andy noticed that she was still going through the process of dying alone.

But I'd sing her classic country songs
Andy would sing old country songs to her.

And she'd get high and sing along
She would get high and sing along with the music.

She don't have a voice to sing with now
She no longer has a voice due to her illness.

We burn these joints in effigy
They destroy joints by burning them as a symbolic gesture.

And cry about what we used to be
They lament the loss of their past selves.

Try to ignore the elephant somehow
They try to avoid acknowledging the harsh reality of the situation.

I buried her a thousand times, given up my place in line
Andy has mentally prepared himself for her inevitable death and is willing to let her go.

But I don't give a damn about that now
He no longer cares about the plans he had made for her funeral or his own personal sacrifice.

There's one thing that's real clear to me
Andy has come to understand one important thing about death.

No one dies with dignity
Death is often an undignified and difficult process.

We just try to ignore the elephant somehow
He reiterates their ongoing attempts to ignore the painful truth of the situation.

We just try to ignore the elephant somehow
They continue to try to avoid facing the difficult reality of her illness and impending death.

We just try to ignore the elephant somehow
They acknowledge that they are still grappling with the difficult reality of her condition.