"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.
Whoa, oh
Oh-oh, whoa, ohh
He can only hold her for so long
The lights are on, but no one's home
She's so vacant
Her soul is taken
He thinks, "What's she running from?"
Now, how can he have her heart
When it got stole?
So he tries to pacify her
'Cause what's inside her never dies
Even if she's content in his warmth
She is plagued with urgency
Searching kisses
The man she misses
The man that he longs to be
Now, how can he have her heart
When it got stole?
So he tries to pacify her
'Cause what's inside her never dies
So he tries to pacify her
'Cause what's inside her it never dies, whoa
So he tries to pacify her
But what's inside her never dies (woo)
Oh-oh, whoa, ohh
He can only hold her for so long
The lights are on, but no one's home
She's so vacant
Her soul is taken
He thinks, "What's she running from?"
Now, how can he have her heart
When it got stole?
So he tries to pacify her
'Cause what's inside her never dies
Even if she's content in his warmth
She is plagued with urgency
Searching kisses
The man she misses
The man that he longs to be
Now, how can he have her heart
When it got stole?
So he tries to pacify her
'Cause what's inside her never dies
So he tries to pacify her
'Cause what's inside her it never dies, whoa
So he tries to pacify her
But what's inside her never dies (woo)
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
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.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
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.
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.
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.
Am I the only person that feels that this song is about the lasting effects of sexual abuse? Come on, it's so melancholic, beyond a break up. The entirety of the lyrics speaks of long standing depression and dissociation that is associated with PTSD. As well, the majority of the lyrics are closely associated with the emotions and thoughts of a survivor. "CAUSE WHAT'S INSIDE HER NEVER DIES!' Way beyond the typical dissolution of an interpersonal relationship.
i agree with this wholeheartedly, the prior guy messed her up, and it wasn't cause he just lied, he really hurt her
I took the song as being about a relationship where the girl is still in love with another man (hence the heart being already stolen) and the part of her that never dies is the love she has for the other guy. And the new guy can only hold her because he can't ever penetrate her heart because she gave it to her ex.
I believe the lyrics are:
SHE IS PLAGUED WITH HER DECEIT: not played with urgency
i tend to think this song doesn't have anything to do with a specific man this women just cant be committed to anyone for a long time it seems very good in the beginning but he can only hold her for a small period of time cause whats inside her never dies she'll always be like that, it doesn't have anything to do with the guy he is great she thinks 'but whats inside her never dies' and he doesn't understands her 'what she's running from' she is always questioning if there's someone better or someone better already is in her life
Ok.. no it isn't lol
WoW! How many of us have felt like this? Can't let go of the demons in your haunt - they're out to haunt any new relationship. What is it about A.W? Her ability to sum it all up so beautifully xxx
In here I'm sorry for both of them. this guy wants to be in a relationship with her, and tries to win her heart, but she still loves the other man. And she just can't let go of her past and won't be happy in her new relationship. It's really a lost battle for both of them.
These lyrics are really wrong.
I agree with Nini927, i immediately took the song as a tale of holding love for a past lover. And as rumour has it, it has been a longtime suggestion and suspicion that Amy although now in a relationship, holds much love for her ex Blake. Admittedly an autobiographical album, i strongly feel this song may regard that suspicion...
That line is so much like a situation of mine: me in a "relationship" with someone who can't understand why I'm running away from being committed, when in fact I just can't completely let go of a past love, ie. "what's inside [me] never dies". Yes, this present fella is "holding" me, but that's all he can do really. He doesn't have my heart, as it belongs to that one man that stole it.