"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.
Hey citrus, hey liquor
I love it when you touch each other
Hey whiskey, hey ginger
I come to you with rigid fingers
I see Judas in the hard eyes
Of the boys who worked in the corners
I feel Jesus in the clumsiness of young and awkward lovers
Hey bar roommate tavern
I find hope in all the souls you gather
Hey citrus, hey liquor
I love it when we come together
I feel Jesus in the clumsiness of young and awkward lovers
I feel Judas in the long odds of the rackets on the corners
I feel Jesus in the tenements of honest, nervous lovers
I feel Judas in the pistols and the pagers that come with all the powders
Lost in fog and love and faith was fear
And I've had kisses that make Judas seem sincere
Lost in fog and love and faith was fear
I've had kisses that make Judas seem sincere
I love it when you touch each other
Hey whiskey, hey ginger
I come to you with rigid fingers
I see Judas in the hard eyes
Of the boys who worked in the corners
I feel Jesus in the clumsiness of young and awkward lovers
Hey bar roommate tavern
I find hope in all the souls you gather
Hey citrus, hey liquor
I love it when we come together
I feel Jesus in the clumsiness of young and awkward lovers
I feel Judas in the long odds of the rackets on the corners
I feel Jesus in the tenements of honest, nervous lovers
I feel Judas in the pistols and the pagers that come with all the powders
Lost in fog and love and faith was fear
And I've had kisses that make Judas seem sincere
Lost in fog and love and faith was fear
I've had kisses that make Judas seem sincere
Lyrics submitted by Nodima, edited by kevyn999, rhysthuryn2003
Citrus Lyrics as written by Tad Kubler Craig Finn
Lyrics © Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
No Surprises
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
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“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Great song, here. What starts off as a simple ode to the alcohol the speaker is drinking turns into an observation of the city around him, keeping with the religious imagery The Hold Steady follows. He sees Jesus, the best things about the world and faith and honesty in some things (young lovers) and Judas, the worst things in the world, in the violence, crime and heartache.
yeah its "lost in fog and love and faithless fear"
"hey barroom, hey tavern"
pretty sure it's "I feel Jesus in the tenderness of honest, nervous lovers." Tenements? naah.
it's about the various feelings a person has on the journey to getting wasted. There are places like bars, taverns and dorms where people feel alright and safe. There are good feelings associated with the hook-ups one makes when getting wasted blah blah blha. Then there's the bad feelings like the anxiety of dealing with drug dealers on street corners, to whom your happiness/satisfaction is the least of their concern. perhaps more literally it can be taken as song about alcohol being more wholesome than cocaine, meth or junk.
don't mean to nitpick, but i hear it as: "lost in love and faithless fear."
one of my favourite tracks off the new album, to me it's a tribute to that certain kind of drunk where you're kind of floating and observing everything. you see everything, but you're above it all. that's how i heard it, but carlwinslow's interpretation is really, really awesome and enticing.
Tenderness, not tenements.
I'm surprised these guys aren't huge yet. Seriously. I love this band.
I think it has to do with people drinking away their lives. You see jesus and judas in all the areas that result from getting drunk. expanding on what kemekongqka said, you may be "floating and observing everything" from heaven, because when you get a drink in your hand your just gone.
The juxtaposition of Jesus and Judas is interesting. On the surface it seemed as though Judas loved Jesus, but Judas betrays Jesus. Similarly, perhaps he is saying that drugs may seem to induce love, but it betrays it. Drugs betrays the lovers...
In a rather large, rambling nutshell: hes drunk, hes kissing them and it means nothing. but the act of kissing is someone goes hand in hand with love or atleast attraction so the fact that he feels nothing for this person is making it an insincere act. basically saying drink/drugs makes you do stuff you wouldnt otherwise do. and i love the way he compares it to judas, so poetic.