"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.
Conrad the Caterpillar thought he was really killer,
Couldn't wait to build a cocoon (original lyrics)
Couldn't wait to buy blue suede shoes (recent lyrics)
Spent all his days eatin' leaves in the shade
And stayed when the night set, too.
Conrad the Caterpillar knew life would be a thriller
Soon as the threads was spun
Wouldn't stop to play in the Caterpillar Games
Till his own webbing game was done.
He said, "No, no, I got no time to play,
Got a thousand little legs that don't get me too far in a day,
I'm leaving, looks like I can't stay."
That little pillar he found him a willow
Spun in with a craftsmans weave
Wound so tightly to protect him from the light
And all shapes of water that drop from the leaves
Conrad the Caterpillar knew he would be a chiller
And he wound it tighter some more
Wound it so wide and the ends of his legs got sore.
He said, "No, now I can't feel my feet
Just when I thought it was time to take a stroll on down the street
I'm leaving, looks like I can't leave
What do you know?
What's all this moving around with inside me?
What kind of 'piller could touch the world of a miller
Chopping trees to build a new store
Nobody sees a lonely bump on the tree
Except a lump who's crying for more
Conrad the Caterpillar knew life would be a chiller as he wound it tighter some more
Anybody stands in the caterpillar's place is moving in a standing run
He said, "No brother, I just need some room to fly,
I spent all of my days just trying to keep dry
Oh I'd take a waterfall or a drop from my eye
I can't see nothin' from here anyway, I might as well make room and try
Might as well try
Oh no, I just need a little room to play
Got a thousand little wings and I'm gonna use them all today
I'm leaving, it looks like I gotta stay.
Couldn't wait to build a cocoon (original lyrics)
Couldn't wait to buy blue suede shoes (recent lyrics)
Spent all his days eatin' leaves in the shade
And stayed when the night set, too.
Conrad the Caterpillar knew life would be a thriller
Soon as the threads was spun
Wouldn't stop to play in the Caterpillar Games
Till his own webbing game was done.
He said, "No, no, I got no time to play,
Got a thousand little legs that don't get me too far in a day,
I'm leaving, looks like I can't stay."
That little pillar he found him a willow
Spun in with a craftsmans weave
Wound so tightly to protect him from the light
And all shapes of water that drop from the leaves
Conrad the Caterpillar knew he would be a chiller
And he wound it tighter some more
Wound it so wide and the ends of his legs got sore.
He said, "No, now I can't feel my feet
Just when I thought it was time to take a stroll on down the street
I'm leaving, looks like I can't leave
What do you know?
What's all this moving around with inside me?
What kind of 'piller could touch the world of a miller
Chopping trees to build a new store
Nobody sees a lonely bump on the tree
Except a lump who's crying for more
Conrad the Caterpillar knew life would be a chiller as he wound it tighter some more
Anybody stands in the caterpillar's place is moving in a standing run
He said, "No brother, I just need some room to fly,
I spent all of my days just trying to keep dry
Oh I'd take a waterfall or a drop from my eye
I can't see nothin' from here anyway, I might as well make room and try
Might as well try
Oh no, I just need a little room to play
Got a thousand little wings and I'm gonna use them all today
I'm leaving, it looks like I gotta stay.
Lyrics submitted by SuperKind311
Conrad Lyrics as written by Domingo Ortiz David Schools
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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Gentle Hour
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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,
No Surprises
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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
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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.
My name is Konrad, so I think this song could be about me. This is a decent song and deserves some comments. The song would be better without the 5 minute jam that it has.