"...You're a complex dune, I'm a cloud of octopus ink"

Fun with cut and paste, because I'm lazy:

"The ink of the octopus, or any cephalopod, is composed of highly concentrated melanin. This is the same dark pigment that we humans have, and which is responsible for skin color and the color of dark hair. It is a natural dye that cephalopods manufacture in an ink sac. Most, but not all octopuses have an ink sac and produce ink, but a few, such as the deep-sea octopuses, have lost this ability.

When the need arises, octopuses squirt this ink together with a jet of water and are able to guide the direction of the squirt. The result is a cloud of ink, which is used defensively as a visual screen or a distraction to predators. The ink also contains a compound, tyrosinase, which irritates predators' eyes and paralyzes their sense of smell temporarily."

"...From memory tension springs we were gunsmoke and the truth"

It's not capitalized, and the fact that the album was recorded in the West may be it's only tangible link, but I don't wanna piss off the powerful Milburn Stone lobby. So here's some stuff about the legendary TV program "Gunsmoke."

"...Let's shake some snow off of his shoulders
Let's shake some snow off of the roof."

I found that this line, and the whole song actually, was an unexpected but very popular crowd pleaser during the initial outdoor tour in July, 2004. Folks seemed to get a kick out of a uniquely northern image of someone brushing, or shaking doggy style (...hear that? that's the sound of millions of people finding this page from a google search and being very disappointed at what they see), some snow off the top of their head.