"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.
The rain auditions at my window
Its symphony echoes in my womb
My gaze scans the walls of this apartment
To rectify the confines of my tomb
I'm the cyclops in the tenement
I'm the soul without the cause
Crying midst my rubber plants, ignoring beckoning doors
Clippings from ancient newspapers lie scattered cross the floor
Stained by the wine from a shattered glass
Meaningless words
Yellowed by time
Faded photos exposing pain
Celluloid leeches bleeding my mind
Christ, you've finished playing hangman
You've cast the fateful dice
Advice, advice, advice me, this shroud will not suffice
And thus begins the web
Attempting to discard these clinging memories
I only serve to wallow in our past
I fabricate the weave with my excuses
Its strands I hope and pray shall last
Oh please do last
Oh please do last
The fly trap needs the insects
Ivy caresses the wall
Needles make love to the junkies
The sirens seduce with their call
Confidence has deserted me, with you it has forsaken me
Confused and rejected, despised and alone, I kiss isolation on it's fevered brow
Security clutching me
Obscurity threatening me
Christ, your reasons were so obvious as my friends have qualified
I only laughed away your tears, but even jesters cry
But even jesters cry
I realize I hold the key to freedom
Oh I cannot let my life be ruled by threads
The time has come to make decisions
The changes have to be made
I realize I hold the key to freedom
I cannot let my life be ruled by threads
The time has come to make decisions
The changes have to be made
Now I leave you
The past does have it's say
You're all but forgotten
A mote in my heart
Decisions have been made
They've been made
Decisions have been made
I've conquered my fears, all my fears
The flaming shroud, the flaming shroud
Thus ends the web, the web, the web, the web, the web
Its symphony echoes in my womb
My gaze scans the walls of this apartment
To rectify the confines of my tomb
I'm the cyclops in the tenement
I'm the soul without the cause
Crying midst my rubber plants, ignoring beckoning doors
Clippings from ancient newspapers lie scattered cross the floor
Stained by the wine from a shattered glass
Meaningless words
Yellowed by time
Faded photos exposing pain
Celluloid leeches bleeding my mind
Christ, you've finished playing hangman
You've cast the fateful dice
Advice, advice, advice me, this shroud will not suffice
And thus begins the web
Attempting to discard these clinging memories
I only serve to wallow in our past
I fabricate the weave with my excuses
Its strands I hope and pray shall last
Oh please do last
Oh please do last
The fly trap needs the insects
Ivy caresses the wall
Needles make love to the junkies
The sirens seduce with their call
Confidence has deserted me, with you it has forsaken me
Confused and rejected, despised and alone, I kiss isolation on it's fevered brow
Security clutching me
Obscurity threatening me
Christ, your reasons were so obvious as my friends have qualified
I only laughed away your tears, but even jesters cry
But even jesters cry
I realize I hold the key to freedom
Oh I cannot let my life be ruled by threads
The time has come to make decisions
The changes have to be made
I realize I hold the key to freedom
I cannot let my life be ruled by threads
The time has come to make decisions
The changes have to be made
Now I leave you
The past does have it's say
You're all but forgotten
A mote in my heart
Decisions have been made
They've been made
Decisions have been made
I've conquered my fears, all my fears
The flaming shroud, the flaming shroud
Thus ends the web, the web, the web, the web, the web
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
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,
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
This song is based around The Shroud of Laertes (Penelope's web), a Greek myth. Penelope waited for twenty years for her husband Odysseus to return from the Trojan war. During this time she had many male suitors and she made the decision that she would marry one of them once she had completed the Shroud of Laertes. However, she would weave it by day and unpick it by night, therefore never completing it. The Web is about a man who knows that he needs to move on after the breakup of a relationship but makes excuses forbidding him to do so: his own web or shroud. I can toitally relate to this song. How many times have we clung on to the hope that our love would return and putting off the time when we have to accept that it's time to let go and move on? But the song does end on an optimistic note as the narrator burns his shroud, he conquers his fears and moves on. One of my favourite early Marillion songs... all the more poignant now as I am currently going through this period of my life... ;)
Dude above you are totally off- Its his womb as he is trapped in his apartment and sustains himself in there. It is about a guy and Ghostlight pretty much hit the nail on the head for the most part. Note the reference to the jester though to keep the album thematic (and more evi it is clearly a guy)- gotta love Fish's lyrics
Great song about Change and realisation (Sorry, I'm not very good at working out actual 'meanings' behind lyrics.) However, as always, brilliant vocals by Fish, and one of the Greatest Steve Rothery Guitar solos ever also feature on this track.
heheh Ghostlight. I know exactly what you mean - currently going through exactly the same thing now.
Whatever has happened (partner leaving being the most likely candidate - but why? there are references to teh media etc. Perhaps some kind of scandal) it's about the depression that follows, the justifiying to everyone else, convincing yourself you were right, it was their fault etc.
But then eventually coming to terms with reality.
Realising that only you have control over your future, learning from your mistakes and eventually moving on.
There's just one problem with Ghostlights interpretation- if its written from the POV of a man, he would't refer to "its symphony echoes in my womb". using the Shroud of Laertes metaphor, I think the song relates to a woman, possibly pregnant, or with a child, stuck at home with nothing to do and ina relationship where the man has taken complete control of her life to the extent that she has no friends and no interests. She's lost her confidence, and remains alone in her apartment not knowing what to do- so she is trapped in a web. as the song goes on, shes saying that she knows that changing this situation is her responsibility and she's thought about making the move and hasn't yet,. But now she realises it is time to lose her fears and go on out into the world again. So she finally leaves the house and him behind even though she' s sad at the end of things, she realises that she has overcome her fears and broken free of the web she was trapped in.
This is a fantastic song.
The Web is about solitude and the feeling of solitude. Isolation and the feeling of isolation for whatever reason. "I'm the cyclops in the tenement". I'm a "one eyed" man who can't see beyond the solitude of my confinements. The web is the life that we weave for ourself. "Confidence has deserted me, with you it has forsaken me" Unrequited feelings? Not having the confidence to profess your true feelings? "Confused and dejected, despised and alone".. I kiss isolation on its fevered brow"....I will always be alone. But it finishes on a positive note. "I've conquered my fears". "All my fears"....This song was and is my song because it meant so much to me when I was struggling with my sexuality...And when you come to terms with life..."Thus ends the web!"