"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.
Frontier town, home of the westren hero
Frontier justice, dealt with the iron hand
He wore a long coat to the ground
He wore big boots that made a sound
He wore a six gun on his hip
But now he doesn't carry it
Sure enough, he was a western hero
On the deck, sighting an old Jap zero
And on the shores at Normandy
He fought for you, he fought for me
Across the land and on the sea
But now he's just a memory
And in the distance, the rocket's red glare
The bombs burst in the air
This time we're never going back
Through the years he changed somehow
He's different now
He's different now
Open fire, here comes the western hero
Standing there, big money in his hand
Sure enough, he was a western hero, Sure enough
Frontier justice, dealt with the iron hand
He wore a long coat to the ground
He wore big boots that made a sound
He wore a six gun on his hip
But now he doesn't carry it
Sure enough, he was a western hero
On the deck, sighting an old Jap zero
And on the shores at Normandy
He fought for you, he fought for me
Across the land and on the sea
But now he's just a memory
And in the distance, the rocket's red glare
The bombs burst in the air
This time we're never going back
Through the years he changed somehow
He's different now
He's different now
Open fire, here comes the western hero
Standing there, big money in his hand
Sure enough, he was a western hero, Sure enough
Lyrics submitted by planetearth
Western Hero Lyrics as written by Neil Young
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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,
What is actually condemned and mourned in the lyrics of the song is the fact that the titular character abandons his beliefs for "big money in his hand." He gives what he is supposed to have truly believed in for the sake of a big payout, thus losing his integrity and showing corruption. If he'd abandoned being a vigilante because he felt "frontier justice" wasn't really justified, for instance, he wouldn't be condemned so readily, because this would mean that he changed his life's path to preserve his integrity. So the song seems to be about selling out, more than glorifying Old West culture. (Not that those who fought "on the beach at Normandy, across the land, and on the sea" aren't deserving of our admiration and respect in many cases. I just want to be clear that I don't think the song is necessarily glorifying the Old West subculture (because one shouldn't make the mistake of thinking this is or was, in any way, the sole way of life in the "west" or should define western cultures), and/or stereotypes thereof, as much as it is commenting on individuals who lack integrity. At even subtler level, it also warns of the dangers of having heroes, or idols, put on too high a pedestal: it leads to disappointment and bitterness when the hero proves to be as human as everyone else. In other words, competing with yourself--instead of striving to match a pedestal on which you place others--is underrated. And perhaps people of the west, in particular, are too reliant on "heroes" rather than themselves.