"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.
Put on my lipstick, I know its gonna get big tips,
Steppin into costume so I can give my patrons kicks
Step outside for a cigarette and its starting to snow,
Every time it gets cold I begin to think of you
Hold on a minute, they're calling me
Suga, suga, suga, come here
Dance a little closer I can almost feel you
Suga, suga, come here, you're all I got to keep me warm
Admittedly its cliche but I'm still writing you letters
My room here is cozy and sparse and decorated with posters of Big Sur
Ive never been there, but I want you to take me,
Though I think paradise is a place you visit and not a place you live
That's why everything is better in manhattan,
Oh people aren't hungry, they are starving in Manhattan
And the buildings are tall and the sky is something to search for
In Manhattan
Oh in my spare time I'm making a garden on my fire escape
I cant wait to watch my seedlings find the sun
It wont be easy, cause nothing ever is
Thats why everything tastes so good
So my love I got all my ropes and chains
I'm gonna give 'em to you for your birthday..
You can do even what you want, but I hope you're gonna tie me up
You can do even what you want but I hope you're gonna tie me up and sing
Oh suga, suga, suga, come here, dance a little closer I can almost feel you
Suga, suga, come here
You're all I got to keep me warm
Suga, suga, come here, oh I can almost taste you
I'm gonna put you out on the street and watch you grow
In the concrete
Oh my love, this time you go to far
How many times must I repeat myself
I love you, there, I said it
and I meant it,
Oh I love you, there I said it and I meant every word
I love you, there I said it, now will you take it
Or will you put it out on the street and watch it grow
in the concrete
Everything is better in Manhattan
Oh the spoons aren't silver, they're gold in Manhattan
And the buildings are tall and the sky is something to reach for
In manhattan, ooh
In manhattan, ooh
In manhattan, In manhattan
Steppin into costume so I can give my patrons kicks
Step outside for a cigarette and its starting to snow,
Every time it gets cold I begin to think of you
Hold on a minute, they're calling me
Suga, suga, suga, come here
Dance a little closer I can almost feel you
Suga, suga, come here, you're all I got to keep me warm
Admittedly its cliche but I'm still writing you letters
My room here is cozy and sparse and decorated with posters of Big Sur
Ive never been there, but I want you to take me,
Though I think paradise is a place you visit and not a place you live
That's why everything is better in manhattan,
Oh people aren't hungry, they are starving in Manhattan
And the buildings are tall and the sky is something to search for
In Manhattan
Oh in my spare time I'm making a garden on my fire escape
I cant wait to watch my seedlings find the sun
It wont be easy, cause nothing ever is
Thats why everything tastes so good
So my love I got all my ropes and chains
I'm gonna give 'em to you for your birthday..
You can do even what you want, but I hope you're gonna tie me up
You can do even what you want but I hope you're gonna tie me up and sing
Oh suga, suga, suga, come here, dance a little closer I can almost feel you
Suga, suga, come here
You're all I got to keep me warm
Suga, suga, come here, oh I can almost taste you
I'm gonna put you out on the street and watch you grow
In the concrete
Oh my love, this time you go to far
How many times must I repeat myself
I love you, there, I said it
and I meant it,
Oh I love you, there I said it and I meant every word
I love you, there I said it, now will you take it
Or will you put it out on the street and watch it grow
in the concrete
Everything is better in Manhattan
Oh the spoons aren't silver, they're gold in Manhattan
And the buildings are tall and the sky is something to reach for
In manhattan, ooh
In manhattan, ooh
In manhattan, In manhattan
Lyrics submitted by burningtonight
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
No Surprises
Radiohead
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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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
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“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Such a good song. It's a really sweet song about love and how things are better when you have to work for them. And Manhattan is a place where life is not easy, so when things are good there, its better because you worked for them.