| Rachael Yamagata – Elephants Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I do not think that this song is about some one yamagata had fallen in love with. I believe this song is about her parents and her relationship with them. Her parents split up in her early years and she have been dividing her time between them. I initially thought that the song was about some love affair she had had. But the lines "If the tiger shall protect her young,Then tell me how did you slip by. " threw me off. The protect the young part didn't fit with anything really. Thats when the parent-child thing came to mind, and then it all fit perfectly. Just take the beginning verses "If the elephants have past lives, Yet are destined to always remember, It's no wonder how they scream," It seems like she is talking about how her parents never came together because of their heritage or their basic differences in their ideologies and fought over everything. //And how dare that you send me that card When I'm doing all that I can do. You are forcing me to remember When all I want is to just forget you.// Seems to be referring to her parents or a parent trying to come back into her life when all that she seems to want at the time of writing this song was to forget about all about the person. //If the tiger shall protect her young, Then tell me how did you slip by// The reference seems to be that her mother never protected her from the inevitable life of a daughter with no real family. The idea of having a child was sleeping(not thought of) when her parents came together. //And I am dreaming of them with their kill, Tearing it all apart, Blood dripping from their lips, And teeth sinking in to heart. // This is really gut wrenching to me. Here she is referring to herself as the kill of the animals. Her world was kinda torn apart when her parents split up. Leaving her heart broken in a way that can never really be put back together. //If you had to take sides with the animals, Won't you do it with one who is kind?// This verses should have been the worst to live through. It seems to me that she is referring to a incident or incidents in which she was asked to take a side between her parents, and at the time she chose the one that was kind. The meaning that I take from here is that she is saying that she just made a choice that was too much for her to make in such a young age and maybe even a small apology for her choice. //If the hawks in the trees need the dead, If you're living you don't stand a chance// This lines and the next two paragraphs, seem to be referring to the bastards that have come into her life taking advantage of her broken heart. Then use her until she finally decides to leave. //So for those of you falling in love, Keep it kind, keep it good, keep it right. Throw yourself in the midst of danger, But keep one eye open at night. // The ending verses, she seem to be telling the people who fall in love to always think of consequences based on her life experiences. She is asking lovers to think it through before making the final commitment and bringing another life in to the world. Be ready to fall in love but dont be an idiot and mess up a kid's life on a hormone surge. Truly truly heart wrenching, brilliant words. I dont know how a person is able to open herself up and pour all this out and share it with morons like me. I wish from the deepest depths of my heart that she find a person who can make her completely happy. I apologize if I have crossed any boundaries that I was not supposed to. |
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