song

Death Cab for Cutie: The Ice Was Getting Thinner

We're not the same, dear, as we used to be.
The seasons have changed and so have we.
There was little we could say, and even less we could do
To stop the ice from getting thinner under me and you.
We bury our love in the windsory grave
Along came the snow, that was all that remained.
But we stayed by its side as the days turned to weeks
And the ice kept getting thinner with every word that we'd speak.
And when spring arrived
We were taken by surprise when the flows under our feet
Led into the sea
Nothing was left for you and me.
We're not the same, dear,
And it seems to me
There's more where we can go
With nothing underneath.
And it saddens me to say
But we both know, well, it's true
That the ice was getting thinner
Under me and you.
The ice was getting thinner
Under me and you

The song “The Ice Is Getting Thinner” by Death Cab for Cutie relates to the idea that Jim and Annas relationship was not always bad but only has become that way due to circumstances. The lyrics “There was little we could say, and even less we could do to stop the ice from getting thinner under me and you” shows that it’s not their fault that things have changed and that they are growing apart. They did everything within their power to make their situation better. Jim worked endlessly and Anna took care of the children and together they did their best to make a good life for their family. However due to poverty, and frustrations associated with it, they were constantly brought down. The more times got hard the thinner the ice became. The tension grew between them and frustrations were taken out on each other often. Jim raping Anna is a clear sign he was pushed to become a man he wasn’t when she married him. The stress of life made him drink and take advantage of his wife. There is evidence in the book that their family has the potential to be happy again. Like when they were all happy at the barn dance, singing and having a good time. However, good times rarely lasted and tensions would grow again. They had changed and become different people under their circumstances. “We’re not the same, dear, and it seems to me there’s more where we can go with nothing underneath” means that at some point the ice will break and they will no longer be able to keep up the façade of what was their love. When the story ended it looked as if the ice between them was on the verge of breaking, however Anna entered a kind of fantasy world that allowed her to ignore the looming disaster.