"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.
I been sittin' here staring
At the clock on the wall
And I been layin here praying
Praying she won't call
It's just another call from home
And you'll get it and be gone
And I'll be crying
And I'll be beggin you baby
Beg you not to leave
But I'll be left here waiting
With my heart on my sleeve
Oh for the next time we'll be here
Seems like a million years
And I think I'm dying
What do I have to do to make you see
She can't love you like me
Why dont you stay
Im down on my knees
Im so tired of being lonely
Don't I give you what you need
When she calls you to go
There is one thing you should know
We dont have to live this way
Baby why dont you stay
You keep telling me baby
There will come a time
When you will leave her arms
And forever be in mine
But I don't think that's the truth
And I don't like being used
And I'm tired of waiting
It's too much pain to have to bare
To love a man you have to share
Why dont you stay
Im down on my knees
Im so tired of being lonely
Don't I give you what you need
When she calls you to go
There is one thing you should know
We don't have to live this way
Baby why don't you stay
I can't take it any longer
But my will is getting stronger
And I think I know just what I have to do
I can't waste another minute
After all that I've put in it
I've given you my best
Why does she get the best of you
So the next time you find
You wanna leave her bed for mine
Why dont you stay
I'm up off my knees
I'm so tired of being lonely
You cant give me what I need
When she begs you not to go
There is one thing you should know
I dont have to live this way
Baby why dont you stay
At the clock on the wall
And I been layin here praying
Praying she won't call
It's just another call from home
And you'll get it and be gone
And I'll be crying
And I'll be beggin you baby
Beg you not to leave
But I'll be left here waiting
With my heart on my sleeve
Oh for the next time we'll be here
Seems like a million years
And I think I'm dying
What do I have to do to make you see
She can't love you like me
Why dont you stay
Im down on my knees
Im so tired of being lonely
Don't I give you what you need
When she calls you to go
There is one thing you should know
We dont have to live this way
Baby why dont you stay
You keep telling me baby
There will come a time
When you will leave her arms
And forever be in mine
But I don't think that's the truth
And I don't like being used
And I'm tired of waiting
It's too much pain to have to bare
To love a man you have to share
Why dont you stay
Im down on my knees
Im so tired of being lonely
Don't I give you what you need
When she calls you to go
There is one thing you should know
We don't have to live this way
Baby why don't you stay
I can't take it any longer
But my will is getting stronger
And I think I know just what I have to do
I can't waste another minute
After all that I've put in it
I've given you my best
Why does she get the best of you
So the next time you find
You wanna leave her bed for mine
Why dont you stay
I'm up off my knees
I'm so tired of being lonely
You cant give me what I need
When she begs you not to go
There is one thing you should know
I dont have to live this way
Baby why dont you stay
Lyrics submitted by Crazeysexycool, edited by m16joe
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
When I listen to this song, it is obviously about the other woman hurting because the married man won't leave his wife.
But also think about a woman falling in love, but the man cannot leave his mother. She won't allow him to move on and be happy with the woman he loves. She constantly causes hell in their relationship because she wants to know her son is still loyal to her (I've been praying she won't call).
But a man can't choose his mother over his wife and have a healthy marriage. Finally, his wife decides she doesn't have to live this way, and decides to leave her husband (here is where all those cheating lines come in "she can't love you like me," "to love a man you have to share" "I've given you my best, why does she get the best of you?"
It breaks her heart because she is so in love with this man, and she doesn't want to leave him. So she asks him to start putting her first, and to put their marriage first, because she is fed up and to her, if he isn't willing to put more effort into their marriage, the only other option is leaving him, and finding happiness on her own.