"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.
Get on the train cause I'm tired of you, boy
You can come back when you're dressed in blue
You won't get a penny of using me
I'm gonna send you home and hit you on Sunday
Don't look so small, I'm not bigger than you
But I've got blues enough to smash your bones
I've lit up my life with those matches I've got
From those who stood by me when I was in pain, boy
You're too near me nasty boy-girl
It's pretty bad that you're still around
I'm gonna laugh when you're down and out, boy
I'm gonna laugh when you're on that lonesome ride
Back all the way to China in a police car from Japan, oh yeah
Sitting in the backseat crying
Where's your pride?
Getting my feet all drained in mud,
I'm gonna clean them when I'm done with you
I don't give a damn if your filthy too
I've got enough soup for my whole generation
Your too near me nasty boy-girl.
It's pretty bad that you're round my hood
I'm gonna laugh when you're down and out boy
I'm gonna laugh when you're on that lonesome ride
But all the way to China
Drop your blood in China,
You will get rid of that mighty stone, oh yeah
People told me you were a rich man now
Where's your pride?
You can come back when you're dressed in blue
You won't get a penny of using me
I'm gonna send you home and hit you on Sunday
Don't look so small, I'm not bigger than you
But I've got blues enough to smash your bones
I've lit up my life with those matches I've got
From those who stood by me when I was in pain, boy
You're too near me nasty boy-girl
It's pretty bad that you're still around
I'm gonna laugh when you're down and out, boy
I'm gonna laugh when you're on that lonesome ride
Back all the way to China in a police car from Japan, oh yeah
Sitting in the backseat crying
Where's your pride?
Getting my feet all drained in mud,
I'm gonna clean them when I'm done with you
I don't give a damn if your filthy too
I've got enough soup for my whole generation
Your too near me nasty boy-girl.
It's pretty bad that you're round my hood
I'm gonna laugh when you're down and out boy
I'm gonna laugh when you're on that lonesome ride
But all the way to China
Drop your blood in China,
You will get rid of that mighty stone, oh yeah
People told me you were a rich man now
Where's your pride?
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“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.
It's about a left-political chinese in Falun FYI. Great song.