"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.
Alice wakes
It is morning
She is yawning
As she walks about the room
Her hair rolls down her breast
She is naked and it is June
Standing at the window
I wonder if she knows that I can see
Watching Alice rise year after year
Up in her palace, she's captive there
Alice's body
Is golden brown
Her hair hangs down
And she brushes it one hundred times
First she pulls her stocking on
And then the church bell chimes
Alice climbs into her uniform
The zippers on the side
Watching Alice dressing in her room
It's so depressing, it's cruel
Watching Alice dressing in her room
It's so depressing, it's true
It is morning
She is yawning
As she walks about the room
Her hair rolls down her breast
She is naked and it is June
Standing at the window
I wonder if she knows that I can see
Watching Alice rise year after year
Up in her palace, she's captive there
Alice's body
Is golden brown
Her hair hangs down
And she brushes it one hundred times
First she pulls her stocking on
And then the church bell chimes
Alice climbs into her uniform
The zippers on the side
Watching Alice dressing in her room
It's so depressing, it's cruel
Watching Alice dressing in her room
It's so depressing, it's true
Lyrics submitted by Dressed2Depress, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Watching Alice Lyrics as written by Nicholas Cave
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Holiday
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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.
When We Were Young
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Punchline
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Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
I gotta say, Nick Cave is a creep - plain and simple. A weird stalking, voyeuristic creepazoid - ahh but i love it!
I like madmanmunt's assertion that this could be Alice Liddell, which i never thought of. I also agree that Tom Wait's album Alice is brilliant - because it is.
I was about to type that however, i didn't know why Alice Liddell would be a nurse - and then i realized that i added that part myself - for years - in my head. The uniform could be a school girl uniform, and i simply had just pictured her as being a nurse for some reason, weird.
So yeah, i don't see why it couldn't be - seems like an interesting take on it. A bit more creepy now - i was always attracted to Alice (maybe cause i thought she was a nurse) and now that she could be a child that's gone for me. Thanks a lot pal!