Elephant Lyrics

Lyric discussion by pdenton20 

Cover art for Elephant lyrics by Jason Isbell

I wish I knew the meaning too. I mean, some of it is obvious. She obviously has cancer and is dying but one thing I don't understand is the part about I buried her a thousand times giving up my place in line. I thought maybe he meant he relived the burial in his head over and over but idk about the place in line thing. I've never thought about the point of view of him having cancer as well either. That's a really good point.

I think you're right, when he says "I buried her a thousand times", he is dreading the day that she dies and he is imagining it over and over in his head, just knowing that the day will come sooner or later.

As far as giving up his place in line, my interpretation is that he has set aside the normal course of his life, whether it be a job or other pursuits, to be with her and take care of her. He is in grief about the impending loss, which trumps whatever else he had committed to...

@pdenton20 "Buried her a thousand times" from my own experience means that he has gone over the funeral again and again. It's like a worry loop...a vicious cycle, if you will. To me, the "giving up my place in line" has to do with taking her place. Saving her the suffering.

@pdenton20 I always interpreted it as "givEN up my place in line" instead of "givING." My interpretation is:

"I've buried her a thousand times," -- he's relived her burial over and over in his head; ",given up my place in line" -- to me this sounds like he's in the "bargaining" phase of the grief process, wondering why it couldn't have been him instead, and he's thinking about how things would have gone if it had been.