Elephant

by Jason Isbell

She said, 'Andy, you're better than your past'
Winked at me and drained her glass
Cross-legged on a barstool like nobody sits anymore
She said, 'Andy, you're taking me home'
But I knew she planned to sleep alone
I'd carry her to bed, sweep up the hair from her floor

If I'd f—ked her before she got sick
I'd never hear the end of it
She don't have the spirit for that now
We just drink our drinks and laugh out loud
And bitch about the weekend crowd
And try to ignore the elephant somehow

She said, 'Andy, you crack me up'
Seagram's in a coffee cup
Sharecropper eyes, and her hair almost all gone
When she was drunk, she made cancer jokes
Made up her own doctors' notes
Surrounded by her family, I saw that she was dying alone

I'd sing her classic country songs
And she'd get high and sing along
She don't have much voice to sing with now
We burn these joints in effigy
And cry about what we used to be
And try to ignore the elephant somehow

I've buried her a thousand times
Given up my place in line
But I don't give a damn about that now
There's one thing that's real clear to me
No one dies with dignity
We just try to ignore the elephant somehow