"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.
I can barely move, I can barely see where we're going now
The road is washed out from the river that flooded just north of town
We stick, stick, stick, stick to the plan we laid out, but we know the saying
The best, best, best, best plans of both mice and men can go terribly wrong, they probably will
So please, nobody speaks, nobody get any smart ideas
If we don't have any heroics we may just get out of here
And home to your families by dinner time, safely and soundly sleeping
‘cause we don't want trouble, we'll take what we came for and we'll leave quiet, or maybe we will
Tear you up, take what you love, and burn it down, burn it down
Nobody moves, nobody moves and no one gets hurt
Nobody opens their mouth and we have nothing to worry about
We'll keep, keep, keep, keep you alive ‘cause we always need bargaining chips
We'll keep, keep, keep, keep you alive ‘cause you're pretty, and we need something to look at while we
Tear you up, take what you love, and burn it down, and burn it down
You swear to build, we swear to come and burn it down, burn it down
Weighing the cost of the love you make
Measure again, yeah
Feeling the weight of the bones you break
Break them again, yeah
Wandering the halls ( … … )
Sinking our teeth into the wall for blood
( … … ) in magazines
Break all the locks without the combination
I know where you hid it, I consider it mine
Went to the ground without a planning or feeling
And keep me alert until the next valentine
Please cut me up, cut me apart and make me
The lover you wanted when you were young and asleep
And I'm fine when your youth burns like coal from a bottle
The lover you wanted while you waited so long
Weighing the cost of the love you make
Measure again, yeah
Feeling the weight of the bones you break
Break them again, yeah
Weighing the cost of the love you make
Measure again, yeah
Feeling the weight of the bones you break
Break them again, yeah
Weighing the cost of the love you make
Measure again, yeah
Feeling the weight of the bones you break
Break them again, yeah
Weighing the cost of the love you make
Measure again, yeah
Feeling the weight of the bones you break
Break them again, yeah
The road is washed out from the river that flooded just north of town
We stick, stick, stick, stick to the plan we laid out, but we know the saying
The best, best, best, best plans of both mice and men can go terribly wrong, they probably will
So please, nobody speaks, nobody get any smart ideas
If we don't have any heroics we may just get out of here
And home to your families by dinner time, safely and soundly sleeping
‘cause we don't want trouble, we'll take what we came for and we'll leave quiet, or maybe we will
Tear you up, take what you love, and burn it down, burn it down
Nobody moves, nobody moves and no one gets hurt
Nobody opens their mouth and we have nothing to worry about
We'll keep, keep, keep, keep you alive ‘cause we always need bargaining chips
We'll keep, keep, keep, keep you alive ‘cause you're pretty, and we need something to look at while we
Tear you up, take what you love, and burn it down, and burn it down
You swear to build, we swear to come and burn it down, burn it down
Weighing the cost of the love you make
Measure again, yeah
Feeling the weight of the bones you break
Break them again, yeah
Wandering the halls ( … … )
Sinking our teeth into the wall for blood
( … … ) in magazines
Break all the locks without the combination
I know where you hid it, I consider it mine
Went to the ground without a planning or feeling
And keep me alert until the next valentine
Please cut me up, cut me apart and make me
The lover you wanted when you were young and asleep
And I'm fine when your youth burns like coal from a bottle
The lover you wanted while you waited so long
Weighing the cost of the love you make
Measure again, yeah
Feeling the weight of the bones you break
Break them again, yeah
Weighing the cost of the love you make
Measure again, yeah
Feeling the weight of the bones you break
Break them again, yeah
Weighing the cost of the love you make
Measure again, yeah
Feeling the weight of the bones you break
Break them again, yeah
Weighing the cost of the love you make
Measure again, yeah
Feeling the weight of the bones you break
Break them again, yeah
Lyrics submitted by cato11087, edited by Mellow_Harsher, Blondiie, SephNite
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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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.
Mountain Song
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
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Ed Sheeran
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There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
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 hear "best plans of BOTH mice and men