"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 look on the back of the picture
Just a short synopsis with year and date
We look so perfect,
But the truth is
I remember it was killing me.
We lie face down,
Hand-in-hand
There's no regrets
Taped to the back.
I got lost on the ride home
With a chance to escape this hold.
You're the reason this city feels just like home.
When we're together
With you by my side.
A camera can make all time stand still.
And make this moment perfect
What our minds think looking back
Is that we're never coming back.
There's no use for this burnt out match!
I pace the hallway with one name on my mind.
The only name, that mattered so much.
Is the one whose words I crushed.
There's no use for this burnt out match
A dozen puzzle pieces fall onto the floor.
Wanting more is all I ask for
I got lost on the ride from
Seeing you.
I was too busy thinking of you.
If only you knew
This Photograph doesn't speak the truth
If only you knew
Blinded by,
Light on the other side
If only you knew
Just a short synopsis with year and date
We look so perfect,
But the truth is
I remember it was killing me.
We lie face down,
Hand-in-hand
There's no regrets
Taped to the back.
I got lost on the ride home
With a chance to escape this hold.
You're the reason this city feels just like home.
When we're together
With you by my side.
A camera can make all time stand still.
And make this moment perfect
What our minds think looking back
Is that we're never coming back.
There's no use for this burnt out match!
I pace the hallway with one name on my mind.
The only name, that mattered so much.
Is the one whose words I crushed.
There's no use for this burnt out match
A dozen puzzle pieces fall onto the floor.
Wanting more is all I ask for
I got lost on the ride from
Seeing you.
I was too busy thinking of you.
If only you knew
This Photograph doesn't speak the truth
If only you knew
Blinded by,
Light on the other side
If only you knew
Lyrics submitted by BulletproofScales
Photographic Memory Lyrics as written by Johno Erickson Jerry Roush
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Plastic Bag
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“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
This Is So Nice, But It's Self Explanatory. Hopefully I'll See Them At Warped Tour As Well.