"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.
Oh
Well now you say you've found another man
Who does things to you that I can't
And that no matter what I do it's all over now
Between me and you girl
But I can't believe what you say
No I can't believe what you say
'Cause baby
I don't want to fade away
Oh I don't want to fade away
Tell me what can I do what can I say
'Cause darlin' I don't want to fade away
Well now you say that you've made up your mind
It's been such a long, long time since it's been good with us
And that somewhere back along the line you lost your love and
I lost your trust
Now rooms that once were so bright
Are filled with the coming night, oh darlin'
I don't want to fade away
Oh I don't want to fade away
Tell me what can I do what can I say
'Cause darlin' I don't want to fade away
You say it's not easy for you
And that you've been so lonely
While other girls go out doing what they want to do
You say that you miss the nights when we'd go out dancing
The days when you and I walked as two
Well girl, I miss them, too
Oh I swear that I do
Oh girl
Now baby I don't want to be just another useless memory holding you tight
Or just some other ghost out on the street to whom you stop and politely speak
When you pass on by vanishing into the night
Left to vanish into the night
No baby
I don't want to fade away
Oh I don't want to fade away
Tell me what can I do what can I say
'Cause darlin' I don't want to fade away
Oh darlin', I don't want to fade away
No, I don't want to fade away
Tell me what can I do what can I say
'Cause darlin' I don't want to fade away
Don't make me darlin'
I don't want to fade away
Don't make me darlin'
No, I don't want to fade away
I don't want to fade away
I don't want to fade away
Well now you say you've found another man
Who does things to you that I can't
And that no matter what I do it's all over now
Between me and you girl
But I can't believe what you say
No I can't believe what you say
'Cause baby
I don't want to fade away
Oh I don't want to fade away
Tell me what can I do what can I say
'Cause darlin' I don't want to fade away
Well now you say that you've made up your mind
It's been such a long, long time since it's been good with us
And that somewhere back along the line you lost your love and
I lost your trust
Now rooms that once were so bright
Are filled with the coming night, oh darlin'
I don't want to fade away
Oh I don't want to fade away
Tell me what can I do what can I say
'Cause darlin' I don't want to fade away
You say it's not easy for you
And that you've been so lonely
While other girls go out doing what they want to do
You say that you miss the nights when we'd go out dancing
The days when you and I walked as two
Well girl, I miss them, too
Oh I swear that I do
Oh girl
Now baby I don't want to be just another useless memory holding you tight
Or just some other ghost out on the street to whom you stop and politely speak
When you pass on by vanishing into the night
Left to vanish into the night
No baby
I don't want to fade away
Oh I don't want to fade away
Tell me what can I do what can I say
'Cause darlin' I don't want to fade away
Oh darlin', I don't want to fade away
No, I don't want to fade away
Tell me what can I do what can I say
'Cause darlin' I don't want to fade away
Don't make me darlin'
I don't want to fade away
Don't make me darlin'
No, I don't want to fade away
I don't want to fade away
I don't want to fade away
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
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.
This is one of those songs that really captures Bruce's true genius, and that it his ability to evoke emotions in his audience.
Verse 3 absolutely gives me goosebumps. Listen to the inflection in his voice in lines 2 and 4 of that verse, particularly on the words "lonely" and "dancing". I really can't explain Bruce Springsteen, he is totally incomparable, it would be like a perversion of morality to even try to judge him by any standards other than his own.