"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.
Here it comes another lonely day.
Playing the game, I'll sail away
On a voyage of no return to see
If eternal life is meant to be,
And if I find the key, to the eternal dream.
The painted ladies of the Avalon.
Play in the sun, take to the road
To the north there lies the chills of cold,
To the south there lies, the tales
untold,
But in between their lies, the place
to close your eyes.
And I will stay, I'll not be back,
Eldorado,
I will be free, of the world
Eldorado
Say goodbye the city's heroes sing
Bird on the wind,
Feel, feel so free
Through the life upon the rooftop
haze,
All the cheating and the broken days,
So through it all I see,
There's nothing left for me.
And I will stay, I'll not be back,
Eldorado,
I will be free, of the world
Eldorado
Sitting here on top of everywhere,
What do I care,
Days never end.
I know the voyage's end will soon
be here,
No eternal life is here for me,
And now I found the key,
To the eternal dream.
Then I will stay, I'll not be back,
Eldorado.
I will be free, of the world,
Eldorado
Playing the game, I'll sail away
On a voyage of no return to see
If eternal life is meant to be,
And if I find the key, to the eternal dream.
The painted ladies of the Avalon.
Play in the sun, take to the road
To the north there lies the chills of cold,
To the south there lies, the tales
untold,
But in between their lies, the place
to close your eyes.
And I will stay, I'll not be back,
Eldorado,
I will be free, of the world
Eldorado
Say goodbye the city's heroes sing
Bird on the wind,
Feel, feel so free
Through the life upon the rooftop
haze,
All the cheating and the broken days,
So through it all I see,
There's nothing left for me.
And I will stay, I'll not be back,
Eldorado,
I will be free, of the world
Eldorado
Sitting here on top of everywhere,
What do I care,
Days never end.
I know the voyage's end will soon
be here,
No eternal life is here for me,
And now I found the key,
To the eternal dream.
Then I will stay, I'll not be back,
Eldorado.
I will be free, of the world,
Eldorado
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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Yo La Tengo
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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Ed Sheeran
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Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
First off let me begin that ELO rocks. And the Eldorado album also rocks, and so does this song! More people should comment on ELO.
Apart from that aside, this song is gorgeous. I love the line "what do I care?" because it describes completely the sentiment of the singer. This guy is completely apathetic to life that he wants to go to "Eldorado" - a utopia that is unreachable. Perhaps he is stuck in a complete rut or is bored out of his mind with his mundane life, who knows, but this song can definitely apply to anyone at some point in their lives.
Taken at another point, this could be seen as a suicidal song, where the singer is contemplating suicide. The "eternal dream" for him is ultimately death, and Eldorado is a metaphor for death. "I will be free of the world, Eldorado" politely sums this up. "There's nothing left for me" also is a sign of how much he thinks his life is worthless.
Anyway, great song regardless of the depressing interpretations!
I believe Eldorado is his fantasy world.
This song touched me early in life. I've always had a fascination with Eldorado and the concept of a perfect world.
Like the rest of the concept album, this song is about a guy who at some point or other wanted to leave his boring world and find Eldorado, but of course his tale is tragic. Every time he gets there he is just dissapointed and broken, so now he knows for sure there is no glory left, nothing there left for him.
Yet he still finds "they key to the eternal dream." I interpret this as meaning he has realized that since he can't go to Eldorado, he might as well just live his life the best he can for real, free from all the stresses of trying to find a dying dream.
All these comments are bang-on. Eldorado is the place of beauty and magic that only exists in his mind, and although his life has seemingly ended, he will happily spend the rest of his days there in the "eternal dream." Even if he has no freedom in this world, he believes he is free in the dream.
I bought the LP in late 1974, by then I was hooked, and now an amazing 44 years later, it is still the same. It is still like listening for the first time... the magic of seeing 'the painted ladies of the Avalon'. When my ship sails for the final time... it will be playing ELO. As an aside.. must be lots of others who feel the same!
@jasrun
I cannot get over the expression and depth in Lynne's singing voice here; I love story songs, and this is one of the best... Muttering to himself, the Old Man is climbing a hill overlooking the latest "Eldorado" disappointment City...For so long he has been searching, but he will be free, soon...Dreams are dust, he will go if he must, just to be...free. Lynne and his orchestrations are superb, and Richard Tandy's piano playing and extras are also enormously effective. Would love to see some animations of Lynne's songs...