"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.
The morning I set sail on a whalebone
The gale force winds made the sky grow
And I was far out in the ocean
I cut the roof of my mouth on the potion
Down, down, down went the femur
I let my backbone slide into the ether
Laying low in a tropical hideout
If anyone finds out, I'll turn their lights out
Where there's a will there's a way to go, you'll never know
I set sail that morning and I may not come back, bro
Lay low in a hideout just to bust you
Tropical, it's neurotic and exotic
With yet another broke bone incidental
Not accidental
When facts track the mental
Even when the move meant ditto
Even with the solitary movement
Words get arranged for maximum deployment
Words mean will
There's a whalebone then there's a tale gone wrong
Young gang on my boat, it's the same song
Same quote, nature stretches it out note by note
It's a new state, you don't know the nomenclature
The governor has status with the cutting apparatus
And that is half the battle
They can't think of how to absorb us
They won't think of how to absolve me
Let's see a cancerous mix of young pirates for kicks
Signed, C-L-T-B
In congealed blood, this is all on the surreal
Don't appeal to the side where the law resides
After that, it's a separatist homicide
Rappers try to cultivate carbon monoxide
You tried to get entranced by the folks
That try to get us by happenstance
Frame our press shots with a whale sternum
And a dolphin femur, band breather lab tech with a solvent
In a broken beaker, yell in boom mics and moonlight as a coffin cleaner
Then poolside I food fight with Hollywood anorexics
I'm in a crew of pallbearers and ambidextrous foosball players
We got pool hall flair, remove all layers of industry pretension
And augmented physical attributes
Because I'm blanketed in nude doll hair
But with these styles we're shrewd on-air
So we've been annexed to an annexed isle
By the radio programmer, half-man reptile
That church of Satan, bible study, tutor, choir boy
Prefers the works that are uninspired and coy
But uh Driver's ploy is to show a lot of follow through
Wearing a monocle coming out a fiery void
Collecting style in rental late fees
They never return it after the test drive
Infatuated by a robots breast size
We ain't entertained by balloon animals
Marooned on our tropical safe haven
Every day is a paid vacation
In the evening, I arrived on a wishbone
So I wished all the stars would go home
And one was a dog with its tail drawn
It laughed as it shed, now it's long gone
I remember the flavor
But I made a choice to stay here
Laying low in a tropical hideout
If anyone finds out, I'll turn their lights out
The gale force winds made the sky grow
And I was far out in the ocean
I cut the roof of my mouth on the potion
Down, down, down went the femur
I let my backbone slide into the ether
Laying low in a tropical hideout
If anyone finds out, I'll turn their lights out
Where there's a will there's a way to go, you'll never know
I set sail that morning and I may not come back, bro
Lay low in a hideout just to bust you
Tropical, it's neurotic and exotic
With yet another broke bone incidental
Not accidental
When facts track the mental
Even when the move meant ditto
Even with the solitary movement
Words get arranged for maximum deployment
Words mean will
There's a whalebone then there's a tale gone wrong
Young gang on my boat, it's the same song
Same quote, nature stretches it out note by note
It's a new state, you don't know the nomenclature
The governor has status with the cutting apparatus
And that is half the battle
They can't think of how to absorb us
They won't think of how to absolve me
Let's see a cancerous mix of young pirates for kicks
Signed, C-L-T-B
In congealed blood, this is all on the surreal
Don't appeal to the side where the law resides
After that, it's a separatist homicide
Rappers try to cultivate carbon monoxide
You tried to get entranced by the folks
That try to get us by happenstance
Frame our press shots with a whale sternum
And a dolphin femur, band breather lab tech with a solvent
In a broken beaker, yell in boom mics and moonlight as a coffin cleaner
Then poolside I food fight with Hollywood anorexics
I'm in a crew of pallbearers and ambidextrous foosball players
We got pool hall flair, remove all layers of industry pretension
And augmented physical attributes
Because I'm blanketed in nude doll hair
But with these styles we're shrewd on-air
So we've been annexed to an annexed isle
By the radio programmer, half-man reptile
That church of Satan, bible study, tutor, choir boy
Prefers the works that are uninspired and coy
But uh Driver's ploy is to show a lot of follow through
Wearing a monocle coming out a fiery void
Collecting style in rental late fees
They never return it after the test drive
Infatuated by a robots breast size
We ain't entertained by balloon animals
Marooned on our tropical safe haven
Every day is a paid vacation
In the evening, I arrived on a wishbone
So I wished all the stars would go home
And one was a dog with its tail drawn
It laughed as it shed, now it's long gone
I remember the flavor
But I made a choice to stay here
Laying low in a tropical hideout
If anyone finds out, I'll turn their lights out
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“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.
He who drives buses, drives us all.
ps. i love how the dude that posted the lyrics wrote out "fast, incomprehensible talking/rapping" haha
THIS SONG IS BRILLIANT
I COMPLETELY FUCKING AGREE
oh yes. this song is amaaaazing.
Going to see them in three days, I cannot wait to hear this beaaat.
This is by far one of my favorite Islands/Unicorns songs. The instrumentation during the "fast, incomprehensible talking/rapping" reminded me of old Hot Hot Heat (scenes one through thirteen).
more importantly, can anyone complete that one line? to me it sounds like "i let my backbone slide into the ree-vur (river.)" but i'm not sure. even better, can you transcribe the rap part? i can't hear half of it at all.
i'm pretty sure the lyrics to the non-rap parts are:
the morning i set sail on a whalebone the gale force winds made the sky grow and i was far out in the ocean i cut the roof of my mouth on the potion and down down down on the femur i let my backbone slide into the ether laying low in a tropical hideout if anyone finds out, i'll turn their lights out
(rap)
i gave my life to the wishbone so i wished all the stars would go home and one was a dog with its tail drawn it laughed as it shed now it's long gone i remember the flavor but i made a choice to stay here laying low in a tropical hideout if anyone finds out, i'll turn their lights out
you're definitely right about "i remember the flavour" and "the morning i set sail on a whalebone" ...they sound much better. i'm not completely convinced about the femur/ether part though, although if you're SURE i'll change that too.