Tapioca Tundra

Nesmith told a story in concert which hints at the intended meaning of the song. In the story, possibly apocryphal, Rudyard Kipling is in conversation with Mark Twain about the character Tom Sawyer. Twain has considered writing a sequel to the original novel, and is unsure whether to give Tom a destiny as a congressman, or to have him hanged. Kipling responds that Twain should not write any sequel, as the character has become part of so many reader's lives, and these readers should be able to impart any future they desire upon the character of Tom Sawyer.

The lyrics about verse, prose and rhyme losing themselves in times refers to fictional writing taking on a reality of its own. It cannot be a part of me for now it's part of you refers directly to the Twain-Kipling conversation. Careful plays on fields were the adventures of Tom. They seem to vanish with time. It may also refer to the care placed by the author in penning the wordsr. Freshly tattered shoes were the footwear of Tom, when not going barefoot. Sunshine was on Tom Sawyer; ragtime played at the time of Twain and Kipling's meeting. Silhouettes and figures are fictional characters. They stay close to what the author had to say, frozen in time by the publication of the finished story. The faded dream of the author is saddened by the news that his characters no longer belong to him, for now they are owned by the world.