"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.
Pourquoi t'inquiète mon silence
Crois-moi tu n'as plus de recours
Que prendre ton mal en patience
L'amour ne dure pas toujours
Tu te jouais de moi je pense
Quand je croyais t'aimer d'amour
Aujourd'hui change la balance
L'amour ne dure pas toujours
Tu as été mon espérance
Je t'ai appelé au secours
Tu vins bien tard mais pour ma chance
L'amour ne dure pas toujours
Tu fus aussi ma délivrance
Tout s'est passé en quelques jours
Avant après c'est la souffrance
L'amour ne dure pas toujours
Tu ne fus donc qu'une expérience
On s'est trompé chacun son tour
Mon cœur fatigué prend vacances
L'amour ne dure pas toujours !
Crois-moi tu n'as plus de recours
Que prendre ton mal en patience
L'amour ne dure pas toujours
Tu te jouais de moi je pense
Quand je croyais t'aimer d'amour
Aujourd'hui change la balance
L'amour ne dure pas toujours
Tu as été mon espérance
Je t'ai appelé au secours
Tu vins bien tard mais pour ma chance
L'amour ne dure pas toujours
Tu fus aussi ma délivrance
Tout s'est passé en quelques jours
Avant après c'est la souffrance
L'amour ne dure pas toujours
Tu ne fus donc qu'une expérience
On s'est trompé chacun son tour
Mon cœur fatigué prend vacances
L'amour ne dure pas toujours !
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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,
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
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.
I live in Montreal, I'm bilingual and my native tongue is French, here is a more accurate translation :
Why does my silence worry you Believe me you have no more recourse But to bear your misfortune patiently ["prendre son mal en patience" is a common expression with no English counterpart] Love doesn't last forever
I think you were playing me While I thought I was in love with you ["aimer d'amour", to love with love, might seem tautologic, but is in fact in opposition to "aimer", which could mean simply to like] Today is changing the balance Love doesn't last forever
You have been my hope [both "espoir" and "espérance" mean hope, however "espérance" is more faith-based -- almost religious -- and long term] I called on you for help You came rather late, but luckily for me Love doesn't last forever
You were also my liberation All happened in a few days Before, after, it's suffering Love doesn't last forever
So you were just an experience ["expérience" means both experience and experiment] [Double meaning] We both fooled ourselves AND/OR We both fooled around ["chacun son tour" conveys the idea of one after the other, or in turns. In the first meaning, obviously her, then him; in the second, him, then her.] My weary heart takes a vacation Love doesn't last forever
What does this mean in english?
'Love does not always last'.
Actually, it means "love doesn't last forever". This song is an almost spiteful reply to an ex lover who did the author wrong, or broke their heart. The writer goes on to say that he/she's basically over that person. The last stanza translates:
"You were therefore nothing but an experience we were both wrong, my tired heart is taking vacation love doesn't last forever."
A rough translation:
Why are you worried about my silence Believe me there is nothing you can do Just take your pain in silence Love doesn’t last forever
I think you were playing with me When I believed you loved to love Today is changing the balance Love doesn’t last forever
You were my hope I called you for help You came much too late but luckily for me Love doesn’t last forever
You were also my deliverance Everything happened in a few short days Before, after is suffering Love doesn’t last forever
You were nothing but an experience We both had our turns being fooled My tired heart is on vacation Love doesn’t last forever