No Elephant Lyrics

I dreamt I built ten filled wooden bleachers
And from the pasture I captured the greatest creature
And how he struggled and fought
How he reared up and stomped was tremendous
But I felt endless

As I attacked him I trapped him in my hunter's net
Like he was just an animal
And he fell down I stood proud on his heaving chest
Like a famous general
And then I loaded my boat
And I set sail back home
Where I was to be honored
When they'd seen what I had conquered.

And when my ship pierced through the horizon
The great parade that my country made went wild
And when we unloaded my vessel
And walked the beast ashore
We moved like a float through the festival
And I said "My countrymen, we mustn't be frightened no more."

And we left and went back West
To my tent and turned
And we there til his behavior showed improvement
And his movements became fluid and more human
And when my whip swung and cracked
I drew blood from his back
And he learned how to turn around riding bicycles
And to juggle and jump giant firewalls
And the spectacle, it seemed
As though it was ready to be seen by the public

And when our costumes were prepared
We opened the door
And everyone I knew was there
They watched me stand alone
Under my spotlight cone on the floor

And I said, there's nothing that can't be earned
Of the oceans or of the dirt
Of the sky or the universe
Oh, if you want it
It can't be set inside any stone
It can't be overturned or broke
See how this violent and savage oaf
Oh now is tranquil
And the lights swung close to my captive
The solemn crowd opened their mouth in praise
And when our audience erupted
It caught the beast off guard
All I had trained to be trusted
Turned wild and rough into the brute he was at heart

And when giant began stampeding
The crowd rose to run
But the panic just left more people bleeding
Impaled on tusks and strangled by it's trunk
And we cried out and cursed the monster
But we had ourselves to blame
So we laid there, dying and slaughtered
As the Goliath god we thought we'd caught got away