"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.
And it's all the treasures that shine in the street
As we drive right over them
And its all the mornings we missed for sleep
As the sun glides over our apartment
And it's all the subtle change in landscape and business
Reminds you of your limited time
This time you'll listen to the movement in your body
How it keeps on despite you and it frightens you
Cause you're barely alive
You're desperate in finding something else to please you
You've been searching your whole life
Something to mute, change, or just distract you
Something to put inside you to give the illusion of life
Cause you've always been barely alive
Cause you're barely alive
Cause you're barely alive
You've always been barely alive
Have you not?
And the greatest escape that you ever did make
With your arms by your side left it up to fate
And the coast that you've seen though you're watching them weekly
You've cursed all perfect days as you walked away
I can hear you say, â??Jenny, you're barely aliveâ??
a metal rods you put in your fucking jaw to keep you from grinding your teeth at night
Cause you're barely alive
You've always been barely alive
Cause you're barely alive
Always been barely alive
As we drive right over them
And its all the mornings we missed for sleep
As the sun glides over our apartment
And it's all the subtle change in landscape and business
Reminds you of your limited time
This time you'll listen to the movement in your body
How it keeps on despite you and it frightens you
Cause you're barely alive
You're desperate in finding something else to please you
You've been searching your whole life
Something to mute, change, or just distract you
Something to put inside you to give the illusion of life
Cause you've always been barely alive
Cause you're barely alive
Cause you're barely alive
You've always been barely alive
Have you not?
And the greatest escape that you ever did make
With your arms by your side left it up to fate
And the coast that you've seen though you're watching them weekly
You've cursed all perfect days as you walked away
I can hear you say, â??Jenny, you're barely aliveâ??
a metal rods you put in your fucking jaw to keep you from grinding your teeth at night
Cause you're barely alive
You've always been barely alive
Cause you're barely alive
Always been barely alive
Lyrics submitted by myslumberingheart
Jenny, You're Barely Alive Lyrics as written by Jenny Lewis Blake Sennett
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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holy shit what a good song! so mixtapeable.
"the metal rods you put in your fucking jaw to keep you FROM GRINDING YOUR TEETH EVERY NIGHT!" sooo awesome live.
When was it played live?
i love how she uses her name in this song/sings directly about herself
I LOVE THIS SONG.
one of my favourite songs. i especially love the scream. mmm.
I think it's a song open to a lot of interpretation, which is good. It can be 'pinned' onto a lot of different things, but I like how it can reach out and span all sorts of disorders and addictions and problems. It could even address different things at once, what with co-morbidity and all. The greatest accomplishment of this song is how it manages to resonate with people on an instinctive level, no matter what's going on. It provides a sort of connection without giving any real answers. And that's cool with me. :)
Something interesting about the metal rods (because I've seen a lot of speculation here)... When people grind their teeth chronically it's usually a symptom of something, not the source of a problem. Bruxism is often found in individuals who smoke or drink; who consume a high amount of caffeine; who use drugs, SSRIs and amphetamines in particular; or who suffer from sleep disorders, anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Eating Disorders (more specifically malnutrition), or depression. Most often, it presents itself during sleep, and one popular cure is the insertion of metal rods into the jaw.
Interesting that all of the topics Rilo Kiley tends to address can cause bruxism. Intriguing.
an amazing song, one of my favorites of theirs
"Have you not?" Hm. I always thought it was "Help me out"
"Have you not?" Hm. I always thought it was "Help me out"
It is "help me out."