"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.
Blue girls come in every size
Some are wise and some otherwise
They got pretty blue eyes
For an hour a man may change
For an hour her face looks strange
Looks strange, looks strange
Marching to the promised land
Where the honey flows and takes you by the hand
Pulls you down on your knees
While you're down a pool appears
The face in the water looks up
And she shakes her head as if to say
That it's the last time you'll look like today
Sail away, away
Ripples never come back
Gone to the other side
Sail away, sail away
The face that launched a thousand ships
Is sinking fast, that happens you know
The water gets below
Seems not very long ago
Lovelier she was than any that I know
Angels never know it's time
To close the book and gracefully decline
The song has found a tale
My, what a jealous pool she is
The face in the water looks up
She shakes her head as if to say
That the blue girls have all gone away
Sail away, away
Ripples never come back
They've gone to the other side
Look into the pool
Ripples never come back
Dive to the bottom and go to the top
To see where they have gone
Oh, they've gone to the other side
Some are wise and some otherwise
They got pretty blue eyes
For an hour a man may change
For an hour her face looks strange
Looks strange, looks strange
Marching to the promised land
Where the honey flows and takes you by the hand
Pulls you down on your knees
While you're down a pool appears
The face in the water looks up
And she shakes her head as if to say
That it's the last time you'll look like today
Sail away, away
Ripples never come back
Gone to the other side
Sail away, sail away
The face that launched a thousand ships
Is sinking fast, that happens you know
The water gets below
Seems not very long ago
Lovelier she was than any that I know
Angels never know it's time
To close the book and gracefully decline
The song has found a tale
My, what a jealous pool she is
The face in the water looks up
She shakes her head as if to say
That the blue girls have all gone away
Sail away, away
Ripples never come back
They've gone to the other side
Look into the pool
Ripples never come back
Dive to the bottom and go to the top
To see where they have gone
Oh, they've gone to the other side
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae
Ripples Lyrics as written by Mike Rutherford Anthony George Banks
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, O/B/O DistroKid
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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Just A Little Lovin'
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"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Plastic Bag
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“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.
way, way back in the 80's , a newsagent in town made the bizarre decision to sell remaindered LPs which all had a weird hole in the top left hand corner as if they'd been hung up on a metal rail and displayed. I have no idea why they had this hole but you could buy lps for roughly £3.00. I purchased Trick of the Tail from that rack and almost instantly fell in love with Ripples and it remains my favourite song by Genesis. Whilst I'm pretty certain that most of your interpretations have some merit I've always adopted the lyric "ripples never come back" as a way of reminding myself that people come into your life and leave making ripples in your existence which change you sometimes forever.Wheneevr I hear the song it makes me feel happy for all the ripples in my life who've been friends. Cheers, guys!
@Grahamvingoe .... that's beautiful. Thanks.