"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.
Myla Goldberg sets a steady hand upon her brow
Myla Goldberg hangs a crooked foot all upside down
It comes around it comes around
It comes around it comes around
Pretty hands do pretty things when pretty times arise
Seraphim and seaweed swim where stick-limbed Myla lies
It comes around it comes around
It comes around it comes around
Still now you're waiting to grow
Inside you're old
Sew wings to your pigeon toes
Put paper to pen
To spell out "Eliza"
We begin with sticky shins make sticky then our shoes
Shoes beget to clothes and hat 'til sticky's sticking too
Finiculi finicula finiculi finicula
Listen in as shin-kicked Jim relates his story sad
About a boy who kicked until his shins were all but rubberbands
But now
I know New York I need New York
I know I need unique New York
Still now you're waiting to grow
Inside you're old
Sew wings to your pigeon toes
Put paper to pen
To spell out "Eliza"
Eliza
Eliza
It comes around it comes around it comes around
Myla Goldberg hangs a crooked foot all upside down
It comes around it comes around
It comes around it comes around
Pretty hands do pretty things when pretty times arise
Seraphim and seaweed swim where stick-limbed Myla lies
It comes around it comes around
It comes around it comes around
Still now you're waiting to grow
Inside you're old
Sew wings to your pigeon toes
Put paper to pen
To spell out "Eliza"
We begin with sticky shins make sticky then our shoes
Shoes beget to clothes and hat 'til sticky's sticking too
Finiculi finicula finiculi finicula
Listen in as shin-kicked Jim relates his story sad
About a boy who kicked until his shins were all but rubberbands
But now
I know New York I need New York
I know I need unique New York
Still now you're waiting to grow
Inside you're old
Sew wings to your pigeon toes
Put paper to pen
To spell out "Eliza"
Eliza
Eliza
It comes around it comes around it comes around
Lyrics submitted by sendthestars
Song for Myla Goldberg Lyrics as written by Colin Meloy
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Myla Goldberg is a young New York author who wrote the novella "Bee Season," about grade school spelling bees. Eliza is the main character. I've never read the book, but I think the other names are characters in there as well.
Playing with the funny phrases makes you pay attention to the words themselves, which is appropriate for a song (sort of) about spelling bees. Also, they're catchy things to put in a really catchy song.
Bee Season "comes around" every year, i.e., the annual spelling bee.
i love this song because its beautiful obviously but also because my name is eliza and my boyfriend burned this song on a cd for me... "Still now you're waiting to grow Inside you're old" this reminds me of a bob dylan song..'my back pages' where he says "ah but i was so much older then, im younger than that now".. we all have wisdom in our souls but as we grow and experience more, our hearts become more youthful, or at least can appreciate the beauty of youth and innocence.
"i know new york, i need new york, i know i need unique new york." amazing! love this song.
This song consists mostly of theatre warm-ups. The only one I don't recognize is the chorus "Still now you're waiting to grow...etc...etc"
Uh well, my mom's reading this book right now, and I peeked a bit because I love this song.
thedouglas is absolutely correct about Eliza and the spelling bee. It'd the story of a dysfunctional Jewish family and their slow-learning daughter finding her... passion of spelling. Because I didnt read the whole thing, I personally don't understand the "sticky" stuff. My guess its that it refers to Eliza's brother Aaron's first time masturbating and making a "sticky mess". I don't know who "shin-kicked Jim" could be, either.
i just finished reading this book and can only find a few things that relate to bee season, but some may relate to myla goldberg herself. i don't know too much about her.
i do know that jxnarcoticz is right about the sticky mess, though i don't get the impression that it's his first time at it. it is his first time attempting to meditate and he ends up masturbating and making a huge sticky mess.
jim isn't a character but i think thedouglas has it spot on with the things that didn't come from the book.
also, myla goldberg has super long legs.
What a fabulous song. The Decemberists are amazing.
Colin Meloy met Myla Goldberg at a book reading she was doing with a friend of his in Portland. Since Colin is from Portland, he showed her around a bit. He thought she was pretty okay, and that she deserved to have a song written about her. She doesn't remember ever meeting him.
His lyrical phrasings are always so impeccable. Everything is always seamless. I know Colin hides all sorts of easter eggs in his songs but it's tough for me to spot them since the melody is always so damn catchy. It's like mental hypnosis... Listen to that beat...
this song is so fun to hear live in new york!