"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 ash set in then blew away
It's getting lost into the sea
I grew so close to all the thoughts I had, to leave forever
I left the chill and voice, the screams in kids, and ran for shelter
You know I won't say sorry
Do you know I won't say sorry?
The pain has a bad reaction
A blend of fear and passion
Do you know what it's like to believe?
It makes me wanna scream
I see a glow from far away
A faint reflection on the sea
I left some words quite far from here to be a sure reminder
I laid them out in stone in case they need to last forever
You know I won't say sorry
Do you know I won't say sorry?
The pain has a bad reaction
A blend of fear and passion
Do you know what it's like to believe?
It makes me wanna scream
I see the stars, they're in your eyes
A playful kiss kept undecided
I'm fast asleep in the nick of time
You lost your wish, I can't help you find it
I'm on my knees to sworn the start
A fresh new start to be undecided
If love's the word, that you say
You say it, I will listen
It's getting lost into the sea
I grew so close to all the thoughts I had, to leave forever
I left the chill and voice, the screams in kids, and ran for shelter
You know I won't say sorry
Do you know I won't say sorry?
The pain has a bad reaction
A blend of fear and passion
Do you know what it's like to believe?
It makes me wanna scream
I see a glow from far away
A faint reflection on the sea
I left some words quite far from here to be a sure reminder
I laid them out in stone in case they need to last forever
You know I won't say sorry
Do you know I won't say sorry?
The pain has a bad reaction
A blend of fear and passion
Do you know what it's like to believe?
It makes me wanna scream
I see the stars, they're in your eyes
A playful kiss kept undecided
I'm fast asleep in the nick of time
You lost your wish, I can't help you find it
I'm on my knees to sworn the start
A fresh new start to be undecided
If love's the word, that you say
You say it, I will listen
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Silent Planet
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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.
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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Page
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My favourite song from their new album.