"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.
All the cities in the world
And so very little time and
So many different girls...
All you have to do is find them.
There's a wealth of opportunity, you plan your trips accordingly.
A pity, but the pretty ones are usually more touristy.
Say, how'd you like to run away from these machines?
Everywhere the spies are printing out your dreams.
Seven stops in seven different countries,
Seven page itineraries, memories thick as Bloody Marys, Jesus, Joseph, bloody hell.
Right now we're here in Boston,
In love with downtown crossing.
New York will be there in the morning.
Come back to bed, my darling.
Four years thrown away on vows we never kept.
Forty-five minutes every day religiously devoted to regret.
Time we could have spent on medication thrown away on education,
And we planned to take a trip to Scotland but we never made it.
How'd you like to run away from these machines?
I had Julian's and Steve's.
You had Julia's and Jeanette's.
You wear your terror on your sleeve for all the men I haven't met (yet).
I had Oliver in Potsdam, you had Elanor in Amsterdam.
We're keeping track so carefully we've missed the state we're in completely.
Honestly, your foot is out the door and I've got scores of offers elsewhere and keep both feet planted firmly in the air,
And tomorrow you can totally erase me from your mind, but trust me everything is fine,
Because
Right now, we're here in Boston,
In my apartment in the south end.
Forget your year in London.
Come back to bed, my darling.
You can put the details in a letter,
The more embarrassing the better.
Right now I can be happy if I choose to.
I know that in the morning I will lose you...
And maybe you'll go mad.
And maybe I'll go gray
And pack up to Berlin,
Or maybe it won't matter anyway.
We'll find out that your mom was right and you'll admit you're really gay.
And maybe I'll wake up
In a city far away.
Or maybe we'll make up
And buy a house and have a couple kids and a Labrador and a microwave.
But anyway,
Right now we're here in Boston.
In Eden, where you almost pulled your pants down.
Don't worry who these jokes will all be lost on.
Come back to bed, my darling.
There is nothing in the world that we can count on,
Even that we will wake up is an assumption.
But I know for a fact that I loved someone,
And for a about a year he lived in Boston...
And so very little time and
So many different girls...
All you have to do is find them.
There's a wealth of opportunity, you plan your trips accordingly.
A pity, but the pretty ones are usually more touristy.
Say, how'd you like to run away from these machines?
Everywhere the spies are printing out your dreams.
Seven stops in seven different countries,
Seven page itineraries, memories thick as Bloody Marys, Jesus, Joseph, bloody hell.
Right now we're here in Boston,
In love with downtown crossing.
New York will be there in the morning.
Come back to bed, my darling.
Four years thrown away on vows we never kept.
Forty-five minutes every day religiously devoted to regret.
Time we could have spent on medication thrown away on education,
And we planned to take a trip to Scotland but we never made it.
How'd you like to run away from these machines?
I had Julian's and Steve's.
You had Julia's and Jeanette's.
You wear your terror on your sleeve for all the men I haven't met (yet).
I had Oliver in Potsdam, you had Elanor in Amsterdam.
We're keeping track so carefully we've missed the state we're in completely.
Honestly, your foot is out the door and I've got scores of offers elsewhere and keep both feet planted firmly in the air,
And tomorrow you can totally erase me from your mind, but trust me everything is fine,
Because
Right now, we're here in Boston,
In my apartment in the south end.
Forget your year in London.
Come back to bed, my darling.
You can put the details in a letter,
The more embarrassing the better.
Right now I can be happy if I choose to.
I know that in the morning I will lose you...
And maybe you'll go mad.
And maybe I'll go gray
And pack up to Berlin,
Or maybe it won't matter anyway.
We'll find out that your mom was right and you'll admit you're really gay.
And maybe I'll wake up
In a city far away.
Or maybe we'll make up
And buy a house and have a couple kids and a Labrador and a microwave.
But anyway,
Right now we're here in Boston.
In Eden, where you almost pulled your pants down.
Don't worry who these jokes will all be lost on.
Come back to bed, my darling.
There is nothing in the world that we can count on,
Even that we will wake up is an assumption.
But I know for a fact that I loved someone,
And for a about a year he lived in Boston...
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Wu-Tang Clan
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
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.
automaticjoy.com but it seems you asked rather a long time ago, so chances are you already found it.
(= great song..possibly about how people who used to be in a relationship just keep checking up on each other's love lives..
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