"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.
Another day dawn's grey
It's enough to make me spit
But we go on our way
Just putting up with it
And when I try to make my
Feelings known to you
You sound like you have changed from red to blue
You're a father now
You seen things in different ways
For every parent will
Gain perspective on their wilder days
But that alone does not explain
The change I see in you
The way you've drifted off from red to blue
Sometimes I think to myself
Should I vote red for my class
Or green for our children
But whatever choice I make I will not forsake
So you bought it all
The best your money could buy
And I watched you sell your soul
For their bright shining lie
Where are the principles
Of the friend I thought I knew
I guess you let them fade from red to blue
I hate the compromises
That life forces us to make
We all must all bend a little
If we are not to break
But the ideas you've opted out of
I still hold them to be true
I guess they weren't so firmly held by you
It's enough to make me spit
But we go on our way
Just putting up with it
And when I try to make my
Feelings known to you
You sound like you have changed from red to blue
You're a father now
You seen things in different ways
For every parent will
Gain perspective on their wilder days
But that alone does not explain
The change I see in you
The way you've drifted off from red to blue
Sometimes I think to myself
Should I vote red for my class
Or green for our children
But whatever choice I make I will not forsake
So you bought it all
The best your money could buy
And I watched you sell your soul
For their bright shining lie
Where are the principles
Of the friend I thought I knew
I guess you let them fade from red to blue
I hate the compromises
That life forces us to make
We all must all bend a little
If we are not to break
But the ideas you've opted out of
I still hold them to be true
I guess they weren't so firmly held by you
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
Surely it can only be an "open letter" to British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He was elected as a Socialist, but has largely abandoned traditional left-wing values and policies, to the dismay of many grass-roots socialists, including our Mr Bragg.