"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.
Svetlana sucks lemons across from me
And I am progressing abominably
And I do not know my own way to the sea
But the saltiest sea knows its own way to me
And the city that turns, turns protracted and slow
And I find myself toeing th'Embarcadero
And I find myself knowing
The things that I knew
Which is all that you can know
On this side of the blue
And Jaime has eyes
Black and shiny as boots
And they march at you two-by-two
(Re-loo re-loo);
When she looks at you
You know she's nowhere near through:
It's the kindest heart beating
This side of the blue
And the signifieds butt heads
With the signifiers
And we all fall down slack-jawed
To marvel at words!
When across the sky sheet
The Impossible birds
In a steady illiterate movement homewards
And Gabriel stands beneath forest and moon
See them rattle & boo
See them shake and see them loom
See him fashion a cap from a page of Camus;
See him navigate deftly this side of the blue
And the rest of our lives
Will the moments accrue
When the shape of their goneness
Will flare up anew
Then we do what we have to do
(Re-loo re-loo)
Which is all that you can do
On this side of the blue
Oh it's all that you can do
On this side of the blue
And I am progressing abominably
And I do not know my own way to the sea
But the saltiest sea knows its own way to me
And the city that turns, turns protracted and slow
And I find myself toeing th'Embarcadero
And I find myself knowing
The things that I knew
Which is all that you can know
On this side of the blue
And Jaime has eyes
Black and shiny as boots
And they march at you two-by-two
(Re-loo re-loo);
When she looks at you
You know she's nowhere near through:
It's the kindest heart beating
This side of the blue
And the signifieds butt heads
With the signifiers
And we all fall down slack-jawed
To marvel at words!
When across the sky sheet
The Impossible birds
In a steady illiterate movement homewards
And Gabriel stands beneath forest and moon
See them rattle & boo
See them shake and see them loom
See him fashion a cap from a page of Camus;
See him navigate deftly this side of the blue
And the rest of our lives
Will the moments accrue
When the shape of their goneness
Will flare up anew
Then we do what we have to do
(Re-loo re-loo)
Which is all that you can do
On this side of the blue
Oh it's all that you can do
On this side of the blue
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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.
First of all, I do love Joanna Newsom. But sometimes I think she lacks clarity. Songs like En gallop and Peach, plum, pear are difficult to grasp the meaning but in the end they are beautifully written ideas. But I'm not sure it applies to all her songs. I've googled a lot on "Bridges and balloons" and apart from compliments to her impressive vocabulary, I haven't found good analyses on what she meant. It's like people are stunned by her skills with words, and they take the meaning for granted as if it was a sin to question what the hell she meant. I see people commenting on this song, but no one can really point out what she is specifically talking about. Alright, it is a critics on semiotics, there are references about existentialism, and so what? Perhaps I lack the culture to understand what she is saying, but then, can anybody explain me? When I have to spend hours to understand a song meaning I always remember this Nietzsche's quote: "Those who know that they are profound strive for clarity. Those who would like to seem profound strive for obscurity" (The Gay Science, sec. 173) Maybe one should value her words as beautiful indeed, but just as part of the song, with no further meaning (only for her, I guess).
I also ponder clear vs. obscure lyrics, which is ultimately better... Clear words probably wins, because beautiful/obscure words are too private and selfish on the artist's end. Here's another quote:<br /> "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." -Albert Einstein
@nbrii I take the title to be a metaphor for life before death or existence in an infinite universe, basically the same thing.