I think this might have something to do with the story "The Elephant Vanishes" by Haruki Murakami.
You gotta read it first to understand why it's closely related to the song.
First of is this line from the lyrics:
"Conversation works to expose how heavy is the burden of your soul. Enough to disguise all you might've said. The Elephant dies."
In the story, the narrator seems to have a love interest on the new editor and flirts with her by conversing with her.
"Although the conversation flows smoothly at first and the narrator recalls being drawn to the editor, he notes that things took a turn when he brought up the topic of the elephant. He immediately regrets bringing up the subject, but the editor presses him for more details when he says he was probably not shocked by the elephant's disappearance.
And the second verse:
"I felt damnation in all its throes-- A complication when confronted with the sight unknown."
Towards the end of the story, the narrator says that that was the last time he saw the editor. Although he considered asking her out for dinner, he ended up not doing so due to a sense of emotional paralysis that he experiences after the elephant's vanishing. The story ends with the narrator describing his unease following the incident and how in spite of succeeding more than ever in his job, he feels bewildered and permanently unsettled. "The sight; unknown" referred to in the song might have been referring to the person witness the elephant vanishing. Or in other meaning, something big and so obvious that just slips from your sight.
The elephant is a symbolic character in the story, representing an old way of life.
The narrator is an isolated and quirky person who seems bewildered by the absurdity of his daily life. He also meets and thinks about courting a young magazine editor. However, following the elephant's disappearance, the narrator finds that he has become so unsettled by the loss of balance in the world that he cannot act, and he never bothers to ask the editor out.
Throughout the story, Murakami subtly reveals how the vanishing of the old ways leaves people feeling disoriented and how the new ways of being create a sense of disconnection and unease.
I think this might have something to do with the story "The Elephant Vanishes" by Haruki Murakami.
You gotta read it first to understand why it's closely related to the song. First of is this line from the lyrics:
"Conversation works to expose how heavy is the burden of your soul. Enough to disguise all you might've said. The Elephant dies."
In the story, the narrator seems to have a love interest on the new editor and flirts with her by conversing with her. "Although the conversation flows smoothly at first and the narrator recalls being drawn to the editor, he notes that things took a turn when he brought up the topic of the elephant. He immediately regrets bringing up the subject, but the editor presses him for more details when he says he was probably not shocked by the elephant's disappearance.
And the second verse:
"I felt damnation in all its throes-- A complication when confronted with the sight unknown."
Towards the end of the story, the narrator says that that was the last time he saw the editor. Although he considered asking her out for dinner, he ended up not doing so due to a sense of emotional paralysis that he experiences after the elephant's vanishing. The story ends with the narrator describing his unease following the incident and how in spite of succeeding more than ever in his job, he feels bewildered and permanently unsettled. "The sight; unknown" referred to in the song might have been referring to the person witness the elephant vanishing. Or in other meaning, something big and so obvious that just slips from your sight.
The elephant is a symbolic character in the story, representing an old way of life.
The narrator is an isolated and quirky person who seems bewildered by the absurdity of his daily life. He also meets and thinks about courting a young magazine editor. However, following the elephant's disappearance, the narrator finds that he has become so unsettled by the loss of balance in the world that he cannot act, and he never bothers to ask the editor out.
Throughout the story, Murakami subtly reveals how the vanishing of the old ways leaves people feeling disoriented and how the new ways of being create a sense of disconnection and unease.
Source: novelguide.com/a/discover/ssfs_0000_0023_0/ssfs_0000_0023_0_00016.html