"Elephant Stone"
Single byThe Stone Roses
B-side	"The Hardest Thing in the World"
Released	October 1988(UK)
Recorded	January 1988
Genre	Neo-psychedelia[1] pop rock[2]
Length	3:00 (7" version) 4:51 (12" version)
Label	Silvertone
Songwriter(s)	Ian Brown John Squire
Producer(s)	Peter Hook John Leckie
The Stone Roses singles chronology
"Sally Cinnamon" (1987) "Elephant Stone" (1988) "Made of Stone" (1989)

"Elephant Stone" is a song by the Englishrock bandthe Stone Roses. It was the third single released by the group and their first release onSilvertone Records. Originally released in October 1988, it showcases the group's growing confidence and incorporation of dance rhythms. The song was written by singerIan Brown and guitaristJohn Squire. It was inserted as an additional track into the tracklisting of U.S. pressings of the band's debut album in 1989.

The single was produced byNew Order bassistPeter Hook in his own studio. It was initially scheduled for release onRough Trade Records and remixed by John Leckie following a deal withSilvertone Records.

"Elephant Stone" was released in two alternate versions; the original ran for nearly five minutes and featured an extended drum intro and more prominent bass playing, while the later, shorter cut ran for three minutes and included layers ofwah-wah guitar. On its original release it failed to make the chart, but reached #8 on re-release in March 1990.

The B-side "Full Fathom Five" (named after aJackson Pollock painting) is essentially an alternate single mix of "Elephant Stone" played in reverse.

John Squire on the hidden meaning of "Elephant Stone", "What is about? Love and Death... War and Peace... Morecambe and Wise..."Squire also said about "Elephant Stone", "It's about a girl... who I don't see any more..."^{[citation needed]} The song is said to referenceWilliam George Keith Elphinstone and his disastrous retreat from Afghanistan (during which he died) in 1842; the allusion presumably being made that the suitors heartbreak at being dropped by his girlfriend equates to Elphinstone's defeat.^{[citation needed]}

Although released as a non-album single, the track did appear on the US release of the band's debut albumThe Stone Roses and also on some post-1989 reissued UK editions of the album. It has also appeared on the compilation albumsTurns into Stone,The Complete Stone Roses andThe Very Best of The Stone Roses.

7" vinyl (Silvertone ORE 1)

catalogue number in black

1. "Elephant Stone" – 3:00
2. "The Hardest Thing in the World" – 2:39

12" vinyl (Silvertone ORE T 1)

catalogue number in black

1. "Elephant Stone" – 4:51
2. "Elephant Stone" (7" version) – 3:00
3. "Full Fathom Five" (John Leckie mix) – 2:56
4. "The Hardest Thing in the World" – 2:39

7" vinyl (Silvertone ORE 1)

catalogue number in red

1. "Elephant Stone" – 3:00
2. "The Hardest Thing in the World" – 2:39

12" vinyl (Silvertone ORE T 1)

catalogue number in red

1. "Elephant Stone" – 4:51
2. "Elephant Stone" (7" version) – 3:00
3. "Full Fathom Five" (John Leckie mix) – 2:56
4. "The Hardest Thing in the World" – 2:39

Cassette (Silvertone ORE C 1), CD (Silvertone ORE CD 1)

1. "Elephant Stone" – 4:51
2. "Full Fathom Five" (longer version) – 3:20
3. "The Hardest Thing in the World" – 2:39
4. "Elephant Stone" (7" version) – 3:00

• The Definitive Stone Roses Discography entryArchived 18 August 2016 at theWayback Machine

• 1988 singles
• The Stone Roses songs
• Songs written by John Squire
• 1988 songs
• Song recordings produced by John Leckie
• Songs written by Ian Brown
• UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles

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