"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.
why?:
after salvaging a good but rotting wood bass guitar
on a late night trip to the city dump,
the man with the dirty disco twelve inch hands
got in his light blue van,
and heading to the school dance,
he noticed cold water creeping up the cuffs of his pants.
he swerved to dodge two people
planting flowers in the middle of the on-ramp.
and as the water level in the van, it began to rise,
he attributed the water to the bass guitar.
(and that's probably why it was in the trash in the first place).
and as the water got to the bottom of his ribcage,
he thought about his laundry in the back
and the brand new dressed shirt
and how the water'd sog the start right out of the collar.
he probably should have pulled right over to the shoulder
but he was late for the dance,
and he couldn't reach the bass from where he sat
to throw it out the window.
he was five minutes from where the function was
and he could hold his breath for two or so minutes if he must.
andrew broder:
brand new skinny ghost,
meet your brand new angel monster
microwave, meet your maker.
"i don't trust tall dudes as far as i can throw 'em--that isn't far...
but if i could, i'd throw 'em head first into the ground like a javelin...
and leave 'em there:
feet protruding out of the dirt like his headstone...
"here lies tall dude."
after salvaging a good but rotting wood bass guitar
on a late night trip to the city dump,
the man with the dirty disco twelve inch hands
got in his light blue van,
and heading to the school dance,
he noticed cold water creeping up the cuffs of his pants.
he swerved to dodge two people
planting flowers in the middle of the on-ramp.
and as the water level in the van, it began to rise,
he attributed the water to the bass guitar.
(and that's probably why it was in the trash in the first place).
and as the water got to the bottom of his ribcage,
he thought about his laundry in the back
and the brand new dressed shirt
and how the water'd sog the start right out of the collar.
he probably should have pulled right over to the shoulder
but he was late for the dance,
and he couldn't reach the bass from where he sat
to throw it out the window.
he was five minutes from where the function was
and he could hold his breath for two or so minutes if he must.
andrew broder:
brand new skinny ghost,
meet your brand new angel monster
microwave, meet your maker.
"i don't trust tall dudes as far as i can throw 'em--that isn't far...
but if i could, i'd throw 'em head first into the ground like a javelin...
and leave 'em there:
feet protruding out of the dirt like his headstone...
"here lies tall dude."
Lyrics submitted by girlboyrevolt
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Holiday
Bee Gees
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@[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.
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.
Punchline
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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.
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.
Best God-damn son ever made.