This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
It's been so long
And tin cans and string for years
Is all that we've known
Could it be you're really here?
'Cause my eyes are open, and everything still moves in slow-motion
Breathless and blue, and behind your eyes, the sea
Oceans of light envelop me
But things can't be as they seem
I'm so far from home
This must be another dream, but my eyes are open
And tin cans and string for years
Is all that we've known
Could it be you're really here?
'Cause my eyes are open, and everything still moves in slow-motion
Breathless and blue, and behind your eyes, the sea
Oceans of light envelop me
But things can't be as they seem
I'm so far from home
This must be another dream, but my eyes are open
Lyrics submitted by Thricecube
Atlantic Lyrics as written by Edward Carrington Breckenridge Dustin Michael Kensrue
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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In the 1980s, sunglasses were a common fashion for people who wanted to adopt a "tough guy" persona (note all the cop shows from that era -- Simon & Simon, Miami Vice, etc. -- where the lead characters wore shades). So I think this song is about a guy who wears shades as a way of hiding his insecurity after learning that his girlfriend is cheating on him. He's trying to pretend that he's a "tough guy" to hide the fact that his girlfriend's affair is disturbing him.
Dustin says it's a love song. Am I the only one who thinks of Marriage when I think of "tin cans and string"? While I see the "phone" thing with them too. To me it's about a woman he's known and loved for a long time, then he finally gets to marry her and he can't believe it's really happening.
Then he has to deal with traveling when he really wants to be with his wife. It's all a surreal experience it seems. Maybe this is how Dustin feels about his wife and touring?
now as for the meaning...it might possibly be either a long time friend returning home and meeting him. her after many years or... the main character (i dont think it is dustin) returning home to the place where he grew up at, i get this idea from the last verse But "things can't be as they seem I'm so far from home This must be another dream, but my eyes are open" once again this band is truly amazing ive been a fan since 2 years ago and i seen em at warped this year but it got rained out anyway october 18th is the day it drops if anyone didnt knowfrom checking out the website... l8tr
" It's been so long And tin cans and string for years Is all that we've known Could it be you're really here?"
Like how in church you read about it and talk through priests and finally after so long you get to see him
"'Cause my eyes are open, and everything still moves in slow-motion Breathless and blue, and behind your eyes, the sea Oceans of light envelop me" ... "Oceans of light envelop me" god is sending his light & warmth that whole section seems like a heavenish place
"But things can't be as they seem I'm so far from home This must be another dream, but my eyes are open"
well its not heaven lol because you should know that its heaven when your there so its obviouly not
so overall i think its a dream about heaven or about someone close to being dead and is feeling that hes almost there
Yeah, I think those of you who want to make it about God are stretching a good deal. It's pretty straightforward. I'd go with "behind your eyes, the sea" being a description of deep blue eyes. I love this song, maybe my favorite on the record.
Not about God no..
"Like how in church you read about it and talk through priests and finally after so long you get to see him"
If you've seen the album you'll find this ..around... The Earth Will Shake.
Tin Cans and Strings is a method of communication (think tin cans...with strings.. sound travelling along the string). Dustin is singing about inmates imprisoned in a cell, only having one method of communication.. through tin cans and strings.
The inmates have obviously never seen each other... it's dark... or their cells aren't facing each other? "Could it be you're really here?" The two ppl.. singer and subject.. have talked/communicated through tin cans and straws, but have never seen each other , being imprisoned in their cells, noeing only the sound of each other's voice. This could be a metaphor for someone finally finding some kind of truth in something (as is with other thrice songs..), the subject being hte truth/knowledge, hte singer being hte seeker, the seeker finally finding the thing he's been looking for all these years (but has actually never come to grasp until "Could it be you're really here?", until his eyes "open".)
However. he finds.. perhaps... this knowledge.. to be disappointing? "'Cause my eyes are open, and everything still moves in slow-motion". Everything still moves in slow-motion, he is disappointed that everything is the same - slow, dull. I'll talk about hte song another time... but one thing that's for sure is that it's not a song about God, but about humanity, revelation, the finding of some metaphysical truth.
i cannot wait to hear this song :D and it drop soon i cant wait!
amazing song... best on the new album in my opinion. its outon mirc thats how i have heard it.
i think its somewhat as if a man or woman have moved away from a true love. they move on with their lives and somewhere down the line they meet up again. and here he or she is experiencing the same emotions in a different place. hence the ANOTHER dream. he has had this dream before, of meeting up again and here they are.. together at last. haha thats my optimistic suggestion! my other would be that he has lost his love to a death of some sort and has died and has been reunited, which i guess is just as optimistic.
wow, this song is so amazing. i kinda agree with dark night. the part about "and tin cans and string for years is all weve known" tin cans and strings, like the phones that kids make maybe? maybe that means he was seperated for a long time, and is finally coming home, but its been so long that home seems like a dream, and hes questioning wether hes awake or not...
the talk about "tin cans and strings.." to me does kind of tie in with childhood, but i think it also brings a sort of "closeness" into play... it's the idea of being attatched to something (held together by string) this song makes me think about Garden State when they are sitting in the pool, and Andrew is talking about the idea of home, and about how when you move out to a new place or something big changes you can kind of lose your idea of "home". maybe this could relate to the idea of redefining that idea of home for yourself...the idea that people have this imaginary place that they are so attatched to, and have to find for themselves again... watch the part in the movie and you might get where i'm going with this.
Try this: Dustin (or the narrator of the song) is a long way from his girl/wife. He can only talk to her over the phone cuz he's always on the road. Suddenly, she's in front of him. But he's dreaming... I don't know, doesn't make sense with the part about being in slow motion, or his eyes being open... but what do you think?