"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.
Temperamental editors
Searching for the passion
Overpaid and over-rated
Looking for a cash in
Yeah, it's too late
If you want to read a little
Useless information
If you've had enough
With all the troubles with our nation
Yeah, well don't wait
And you read about 'em
You just can't sleep without
The pages of the magazine
Don't believe in all you read
You can't trust the tabloid magazine
And I'm about to break down
It's just a tabloid magazine
And I don't want to break down
I don't want to break down
Picture hungry journalists
Looking for some action
Running all the stories
Like it's going out of fashion
Yeah, it's too late
Everybody's reading
Everybody else's problems
Everybody's busy stopping
What they haven't started
Yeah, well don't wait
You can read about 'em
And you won't sleep without
The pages of the magazine
But don't belive in all you read
You can't trust a tabloid magazine
And I'm about to break down
It's just a tabloid magazine
And I don't want to break down
I don't want to break down
I don't want to break down
I don't want to break down
Don't want to be around 'em
Better off without them
You know you can't escape them
Don't want to be around 'em
Better off without them
You know you can't escape them
Don't want to be around 'em
Better off without them
You know you can't escape them
And you read about them all the time
From the pages of the magazine
But you can't believe in all you read
Go!
Well it's too late(tabloid magazine)
And you're gonna have to wait(tabloid magazine)
And you won't want turn out the light
Well it's too late(tabtloid magazine)
And you're gonna have to wait(tabloid magazine)
And you won't want turn out the light
It's just a tabloid magazine(breakdown)
It's just a tabloid magazine(breakdown)
It's just a tabloid magazine(breakdown)
It's just a tabloid magazine
Searching for the passion
Overpaid and over-rated
Looking for a cash in
Yeah, it's too late
If you want to read a little
Useless information
If you've had enough
With all the troubles with our nation
Yeah, well don't wait
And you read about 'em
You just can't sleep without
The pages of the magazine
Don't believe in all you read
You can't trust the tabloid magazine
And I'm about to break down
It's just a tabloid magazine
And I don't want to break down
I don't want to break down
Picture hungry journalists
Looking for some action
Running all the stories
Like it's going out of fashion
Yeah, it's too late
Everybody's reading
Everybody else's problems
Everybody's busy stopping
What they haven't started
Yeah, well don't wait
You can read about 'em
And you won't sleep without
The pages of the magazine
But don't belive in all you read
You can't trust a tabloid magazine
And I'm about to break down
It's just a tabloid magazine
And I don't want to break down
I don't want to break down
I don't want to break down
I don't want to break down
Don't want to be around 'em
Better off without them
You know you can't escape them
Don't want to be around 'em
Better off without them
You know you can't escape them
Don't want to be around 'em
Better off without them
You know you can't escape them
And you read about them all the time
From the pages of the magazine
But you can't believe in all you read
Go!
Well it's too late(tabloid magazine)
And you're gonna have to wait(tabloid magazine)
And you won't want turn out the light
Well it's too late(tabtloid magazine)
And you're gonna have to wait(tabloid magazine)
And you won't want turn out the light
It's just a tabloid magazine(breakdown)
It's just a tabloid magazine(breakdown)
It's just a tabloid magazine(breakdown)
It's just a tabloid magazine
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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.
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,
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
I remember reading this song was written by Chris about his GF (now wife) buying all the Tabloid papers that had The Living End articles in them, then listening to her talk about how "awfull they were", even though she bought it LOL
This song aint just about leaving celebrities alone, its about how simple minded people are and how were feeding the journalists by buying their articles and "useless information. Its about how we care more about whats going on with celebrities and whats written in the magazines then whats going on in the world "and you read about it and You cant sleep with out the pages of the magazine". Its all about how most of what we read in these magazines and articles are false facts just to try and make more money andf sell more articles, "dont believe in all you read".
@Pigmy I know you posted this years and years ago now (did people abandon 'Songmeanings'? And if so, why??? Was it replaced?, but either way, this is a spot on-analysis of one of Chris' simpler but still clever tunes. The chorus hook and etc play up the magazines being trashy, untrustworthy, desperate, all of which they are, but what makes it a "Living End" song is this idea that people are willingly reading this inane bullshit INSTEAD of keeping up on what's important, and the issues, and the unpleasant realities of the world at large and even their own lives.
About how despicable and evil people who profit from tabloid magazines are, and how ordinary people are drawn to the personal lives of the famous. Lets leave the celebrities alone, they deserve their privacy!
I love this song when i heard it live i just stood there in ore..This song is about how the public can be so obsessed with celebraties that just want privacy bu the reporters just keep getting more and more stuff on them,..i think celebs should be able to be armed cos most of the reporters out there are scum..once again good song..
what's so interesting reading exaggerated storys about celebs anyway, let them have some privacy and be able to live a "normal" life, hope i never become a celebrity =)