Episode 3: Entry Date 08/30/02

Okay, so it has been quite some time since a diary entry. Today, I found a few minutes of time to write. I found it somewhere lodged between my dirty laundry and my bill pile. Never the less, I found it!

Jimmy and the Elephant

If you have ever come to one of our shows, you cannot mistake our excitement to play this song. In fact, we usually end up doing it twice in the same night. Why? Well, over coffee the other day a friend of mine asked me what it was about. Now, I don’t usually like to tell people about what the lyrics mean, explicitly that is, because I believe they can mean many things to many different people. I like the mystery in that.

However, in the case of Jimmy and the Elephant, there is a definite meaning to the song. Let’s begin, we wrote it a year ago; I remember I was really pissed off with the adult world I live in and the adult lyrics that seemed to pour out of me. I wanted to return to the kingdom of childhood! I wanted that feeling of carefree days… days filled with swimming in the river, building forts out of scrap wood, and not a care in the world. Sometimes, that feeling and place in my head is hard to find. Is it hard for you?

Luckily, Anuj and Abhinit came to my rescue (note: the boys of Shadow Box often pull me out of my adult cage to play!). I walked into practiced—irritated. Irritation turned to great anticipation once I heard what was coming out of Anuj’s bedroom—our low budget practice room.

I first heard the tabla—Abhi (as I call him) had done it again—his sweet sweet rhythm filled the room. In my mind I saw him, Jimmy, the little boy holding his hand out to an elephant. I was transfixed by the rhythm and the images it gave me. The idea of the song blossomed as Anuj’s guitar riff hung above the rhythm. The guitar riff was with out a doubt Trilok Gurtu inspired! The tabla-guitar trance transported me to that place in my mind where I was lost in the jungle searching for that kid in me. Sure enough, up walked the elephant, a friend of mine and a friend of Jimmy’s.

The elephant places Jimmy on his back and that is when the adventure begins. The adventure winds through the canopy of the trees into the jungle’s darkness. In the darkness, the elephant reminds Jimmy of the spirit inside of him and takes our little friend Jimmy for a ride. Jimmy learns many things, and as he walks up to the water’s edge he drops his toy elephant on the floor (I can vividly see Jimmy standing next to the bathtub—dropping his toy elephant as he lunges into the tub, splashing his childhood all over the bathroom tiles).

REMEMBER: Every once in a while, we all need help from people, or elephants, to remind us of the childlike magic in us, because it truly is A JUNGLE OUT THERE!

- Laura