NICK CAVE & WARREN ELLIS – White Elephant (2021)

We can’t breathe. “White Elephant” is a song by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, featured on their 2023 album Skeleton Tree. The album came after the tragic death of Nick Cave’s son, Arthur, and much of the work reflects grief, loss, and the emotional weight that comes with it. However, “White Elephant” stands out for its rich, haunting, and sparse musical arrangement. The track’s title, “White Elephant,” likely refers to the phrase commonly used to describe a burdensome or unwanted gift—often symbolizing something that may seem valuable but is difficult to manage. In the context of the album, it could also allude to the emotional weight of significant events, the complexities of relationships, or the difficulties of confronting uncomfortable truths.

The white hunter sits on his porch With his elephant gun and his tears He’ll shoot you for free if you come around here A protester kneels on the neck of a statue The statue says, “I can’t breathe” The protester says, “Now you know how it feels” And he kicks it into the sea

I’m a Botticelli Venus with a penis Riding an enormous scalloped fan I’m a sea foam woman rising from the spray And I’m coming to do you harm With a gun in my pants full of elephant tears And a seahorse on each arm With my elephant gun of tears I’ll shoot you all for free If you evеr think about coming ’round here I’ll shoot you in the fucking facе If you think of coming around here

I’m an ice sculpture melting in the sun I’m an ice sculpture with an elephant gun I’m an ice sculpture made of elephant-sized tears Raining gas and salt upon your heads The president has called in the Feds I’ve been planning this for years I’ll shoot you in the fucking face If you think of coming around here I’ll shoot you for just for fun I’m a statue lying on my side in the sun With the memory of an elephant Evaporating before your eyes And becoming a great grey cloud of wrath Roaring my salt upon the earth I’ll shoot you all for free if you so much as look at me

A time is coming A time is nigh For the kingdom In the sky Don’t ask who Don’t ask why ‘Cause there’s a kingdom in the sky We’re all coming home For a while

A time is coming (a time is coming) A time is nigh (a time is nigh) For the kingdom in the sky (in the sky) We’re all coming home (we’re all coming home) For a whileA time is coming (a time is coming) A time is nigh (a time is nigh) For the kingdom (for the kingdom) in the sky (in the sky) We’re all coming home In a while (in a while) (Kingdom in the sky)