"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Moon Sammy walks. Across the floor. Below the floor. There is a wall.
Behind the wall. There is a chair. Moon Sammy knows. The chair is there.
But that's OK, that's OK, you can do that--if you're wound up, full of tension,
incoherent. Your mouth is buttered with lies; you ask why, but you could
call it enigmatic; all your thoughts about the chair are full of static.
Automatically your mind goes down the stairwell to the chair; your body
says Moon Sammy, can you come back?
Strum it.
Moon Sammy washes. In the sink. Below the sink. There is a drain. The drain
goes straight. Into the sea. The sink itself. Is porcelain.
Obsess yourself with causality. The information you hear is a loophole,
technicality. Behind every object is a mathematic; an obscure substance
infused with a kinetic force, energy, an obscure conscience shoots a gun at
the feet the world dances.
Babylon, mystery, mother of harlots, and all these abominations of the
earth, that sits on many waters, drunk with the blood of the martyrs of
Jesus.
And I wondered with great admiration.
Behind the wall. There is a chair. Moon Sammy knows. The chair is there.
But that's OK, that's OK, you can do that--if you're wound up, full of tension,
incoherent. Your mouth is buttered with lies; you ask why, but you could
call it enigmatic; all your thoughts about the chair are full of static.
Automatically your mind goes down the stairwell to the chair; your body
says Moon Sammy, can you come back?
Strum it.
Moon Sammy washes. In the sink. Below the sink. There is a drain. The drain
goes straight. Into the sea. The sink itself. Is porcelain.
Obsess yourself with causality. The information you hear is a loophole,
technicality. Behind every object is a mathematic; an obscure substance
infused with a kinetic force, energy, an obscure conscience shoots a gun at
the feet the world dances.
Babylon, mystery, mother of harlots, and all these abominations of the
earth, that sits on many waters, drunk with the blood of the martyrs of
Jesus.
And I wondered with great admiration.
Lyrics submitted by NeoNess
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
I know that the "real" Moon Sammy is a fat black janitor/night watchman that Doughty met at some point. What the rest actually meant to him (aside from the weird apocalyptic musings that seem to infuse the whole album), I have no clue.
However, I named one of my cats after this song so I can't help but think about it in terms of cat/human perspective. The simplicity and straightforwardness of the two "Moon Sammy" verses is very catlike (especially this cat, who was very certain of herself and her little world), and the rest of it, the complicated part that spins the mind out into its own universe, is human (especially me, because at the time I got this cat I was just settling into graduate school and my mind was going all over the place). I had a real sense of "great admiration" for her and her self-containment--what a weird little thing she was; I suppose all cats are (they contain multitudes).
I don't know if Doughty's a cat man but if he were I suspect he might appreciate that reading.
The part that starts with "babylon, mystery, mother of harlots" to the very end of the song are all quotes from the book of revelations mixed together. I think Doughty had a thing with the language used in the book of revelations for a while or something, because years later parts of his rant on BT's "Never Gonna Come Back Down" were taken from there too.
I was watching the movie "Ed Gein" a few nights ago and was surprised when I recognized that one of the characters ( Gein'm mother ) was speaking the lyrics ( Babylon,mystery...) from this song. And she quoted them almost exactly in that order. Then at the very end of the movie, when Gein is in prison talking about his mother, her voice is once again heard quoting the same paragraph. The movie is supposedly a pretty acurate telling of the man based on interviews with Gein and those that new him.
I happened across this thread while searching for potential meanings behind the term "Moon Sammy", a phrase I encountered while listening to a recording of an old Calypso song called "Caroline," which is featured on the album "Calypso Pioneers 1912-1937" and sung by Wilmouth Houdini. Houdini is singing about an unfaithful companion and repeatedly stating, "tell me where you been last night Caroline." During verse 1 (if my ears are serving me) he states that his neighbors are laughing at him and calling him "Moon Sammy." I have not been able to find any other references to the name.
"Moon Sammy" seems to be a simple, basic mode of here-in-the now consciousness - shared with a neurotic, overintellectual psyche that ends up being unable to articulate anything in the second verse. The body they share would prefer the simple,uncomplicated thoughts of Moon Sammy ..."the body says moon sammy can you come back" The mind, however, is obsessed with cause and effect and finding a deeper reality behind what is perceived. Thus revealing itself as "Babylon", the abstract mode of consciousness that takes us away from the basic simplicity of Moon Sammy. And the singer is amazed by all of it coexisting together.
Or something.