Tame Impala’s second album, Lonerism, is considered by many (including myself) to be the artist’s magnum opus. But one song that became a huge breakout hit was certainly “Elephant.” A song about the various bands that existed around the time of Tame’s creation in their city of Perth, Australia- It tells the story of one person, who is likened to an Elephant, and is quite arrogant. Many people, both real (and fictional) may come to mind when you yourself try to imagine who the “Elephant” could be. For me, I’m most reminded of Tenma, and I’m here to explain why.

First, It would help if you gave the song a listen, so I will be linking it down below, give it a shot! Secondly, of course, I don’t actually think Kevin Parker wrote “Elephant” to be about Tenma, that would be foolish to think beyond measure. I do, however, think that the lyrics and themes contained within the song remind me of him, which again is what we’ll be discussing today.

To start, let’s go over the first half of the first verse’s lyrics. As stated on Genius.com, they are:

Well, he feels like an elephant

Shaking his big grey trunk for the hell of it

He knows that you’re dreamin’ about being loved by him

Too bad your chances are slim

And it’s not like Mr. Shuck

To get shy when they ask him who is on top

From what we can gather about Tenma’s portrayal in the 2003 series, we can see that at times he tends to give off quite an air of hubris. He’s never not upfront about his place in the world, and the people in his puzzle that he’s so desperately trying to put together. Likening him to an elephant, we get the impression that he’s large and in charge, “shaking his big gray trunk for the hell of it” implies that he’ll flaunt and make a big show about whatever, whenever, just to remind everyone of his importance. I’m always reminded of Astro/Tobio when it comes to the next 2 lines, “He knows that you’re dreaming about being loved by him / too bad your chances are slim” because quite literally we all know that at times they’ve both pinned after Tenma giving them the time of day. Even though, always like clockwork, he never delivers. Also likening him to the character in Art Garfunkel’s “Mr. Shuck ‘n’ Jive,” we’re reinforcing what was mentioned earlier about being pretentious. This time, though, we’re referring more to an event, so to speak. In this, he is being asked “who is on top,” and without hesitation, he is saying himself. Even if you considered the numerous times he’s brought up robot domination, you can’t deny he wouldn’t turn around and act like he was the glue that put everything together.

Next, we’ll discuss the second half of the first verse, which is as follows:

There must be something deep down in the dark down there

But he’s not too easily scared

He’s got friends but they got the fear

Wouldn’t care too much if he just disappeared

Oh look, hey, there he is now coming down the stairs

(Here he comes)

Now, we are getting deeper into our understanding of the “Elephant” (who again in this case would be Tenma). We begin with the notion that Tenma is quite fearless, though I would argue there are some caveats to that interpretation. My idea here is that instead of being fearless, he is actually scared shitless at many points, but to maintain appearances (either from others or even himself), he pretends not to be scared, thus further emphasizing his cockiness. The people he surrounds himself with, like Drake, are portrayed as only associating with Tenma because of what he brings to them. In many episodes, he is seen giving either money, or insider information to things no one else of his caliber would have. Which is great for them, but it ultimately means there probably isn’t anything genuine in their relationships. Rather, they are all purely transactional. The lyrics, “Wouldn’t care too much if he just disappeared” do a fantastic job at emphasizing that point. The final 2 lines give way to the song becoming a bit more plot like, which leads us into the next part: the instrumental.

The instrumental part of this song has got to be my favorite part of the song, second to only the opening lines of the second verse. It’s a rock odyssey anthem that goes through many phases, that in my eyes are telling the story of Tenma showing up and the chaos that ensues. I mean, the first part before “(Here he comes)” in the first verse sounds exactly like walking down the stairs, and the roaring synth that comes in afterward is just so on brand.

What we’re left with now, is only the final verse, which, again, is below:

He pulled the mirrors off his Cadillac (Yeah)

‘Cause he doesn’t like it looking like he looks back

He talks like his opinion is a simple fact

Somebody grabbed his collar

He cried the whole way home

No one remembered a thing when they saw him again

That’s how it is 'til the end (Yeah)

In what has to be my top 3 Tame Impala lyrics of all time, the alliteration in “He pulled the mirrors off his Cadillac (Yeah) / 'Cause he doesn’t like it looking like he looks back” is simply impeccable. What it does is continue where we left off before the instrumental break, where the “Elephant” was being described to us. Now, we are being told that Tenma, does not look back. So much so, that he pulled his rearview mirrors off to ensure of it. Obviously, there’s no way of knowing if he actually drives a Cadillac, or if he literally has pulled his rearview mirrors off, but what I can say is based on those lines, we’re solidifying that he views himself in a high regard, and will keep trotting forward, no matter what. The next few lines detail an event where things have gone awry, and we’re made to believe that nobody did or said anything after the fact. Though (obviously) I cannot say exactly what event this could be referring to, as it may be just hypothetical, there is no doubt in my mind, that anything that happens to Tenma just gets swept under the rug. Not even O’shay seems to say or do much regarding getting Tenma off Astro’s back, so clearly there is some forgetfulness going on here.

Overall, this was a pretty silly post to make. However, I will concede to the fact that not all things need to be serious, and sometimes you want to combine your special interests like gay barbie dolls you’ve forced to kiss. I hope, however, though, you at least left this post with a new bop to jam out to!

Here’s the link to give it a listen!