"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.
We knew our stream would lead to a bigger stream
And eventually the river, and out to the sea
It never seemed like a possibility
That we could go beyond our boundaries
Beyond my mother's screams
We jumped over fences and we cut some down
As the stream got deeper and winded around
When we finally made it to its mouth
We stood in silence in what we had found
We were afraid to make a sound
There was this warning, written in red
"This is the land of the Senecas, keep out" then Beastmaster said:
"We should not do this now, hawk?" "No we should turn around"
"No we should not do this now,hawk?" "No we should turn around"
"Make some plans then come back and attack"
We went to school and we told the gang
We all met up the next Saturday
Armed to the teeth with BB guns, Rambo knives and machetes
We were a wicked little team
We marched beside the new found stream
There were red palm prints on the trees
We found their club so easily
We ripped up everything
We showed no mercy
We painted lightning bolts
And we left a note to let our enemies know that this war had begun
We said: "You got no right to post that kind of sign
This woods does not belong to you or anyone
And your warnings don't scare us"
"Because, we move silently
We hide in the shadows of the trees and we will not be seen
We can disarm the traps you set, set our own that you will trip
Our arrows will fly straighter
This woods does not belong to anyone, but if it must it will belong to us
We have won this day, you should know our names
We are the Gladiators"
We made maps, we gave names to all the paths
We found the place that gave our little town its name
It looked like a castle but it was where they made the cement at
To us it was such a magic place
We made a temple out of wood and we filled it with the bones
That we found in the woods so people would leave us alone
We were young, we were dumb, we were having so much fun
The new kings of the new kingdom
We enjoyed our victory
Then we got a message from someone named Gypsy
He said: "Your bones do not scare me
This war's not over and I think that we should meet
The temple, this Friday at 3"
I woke up early before school and I ran back to the spot
It was filled with traps, just like I thought
I tore them up and left a note, I said: "Is this some kind of joke?
There's much more to us than just old bones"
And the top of the castle is where we would meet next
This time the time and the place were things that we picked
We said: "no weapons" we said: "no tricks"
We did the best to hide the fact that we were just some little kids
We were just some little kids
I was scared when I saw him
He looked much older and I thought that he might be a Vet
Beastmaster climbed the wall and saw he had a rifle hidden on a rope hanging in the pit
I said: "We said no weapons!" and called him out on it
He didn't know how I could know until he turned around
Beastmaster had climbed right up behind him
And didn't make a sound
And we really had him now
We talked for a while with this stranger about the natives of this land, our gangs, and nature
When we got home again
We didn't know what to think of him
But it seemed like the war was over and the trees held no more danger
I was sad to see it go
A few days later I ran in to him alone
At the place that used to be his old gang's base
He told me stories of their glory days
Before his friends grew up or they moved away
And we decided that day that we would build something new
We would build it together, it would represent our truce
And as I got to know him, it was easy to see that he was just a kid who loved the woods like me
He was a friend, he was not an enemy
We made our enemies our friends
We should have never been enemies with them
We made our enemies our friends
And our gang got twice as big
And eventually the river, and out to the sea
It never seemed like a possibility
That we could go beyond our boundaries
Beyond my mother's screams
We jumped over fences and we cut some down
As the stream got deeper and winded around
When we finally made it to its mouth
We stood in silence in what we had found
We were afraid to make a sound
There was this warning, written in red
"This is the land of the Senecas, keep out" then Beastmaster said:
"We should not do this now, hawk?" "No we should turn around"
"No we should not do this now,hawk?" "No we should turn around"
"Make some plans then come back and attack"
We went to school and we told the gang
We all met up the next Saturday
Armed to the teeth with BB guns, Rambo knives and machetes
We were a wicked little team
We marched beside the new found stream
There were red palm prints on the trees
We found their club so easily
We ripped up everything
We showed no mercy
We painted lightning bolts
And we left a note to let our enemies know that this war had begun
We said: "You got no right to post that kind of sign
This woods does not belong to you or anyone
And your warnings don't scare us"
"Because, we move silently
We hide in the shadows of the trees and we will not be seen
We can disarm the traps you set, set our own that you will trip
Our arrows will fly straighter
This woods does not belong to anyone, but if it must it will belong to us
We have won this day, you should know our names
We are the Gladiators"
We made maps, we gave names to all the paths
We found the place that gave our little town its name
It looked like a castle but it was where they made the cement at
To us it was such a magic place
We made a temple out of wood and we filled it with the bones
That we found in the woods so people would leave us alone
We were young, we were dumb, we were having so much fun
The new kings of the new kingdom
We enjoyed our victory
Then we got a message from someone named Gypsy
He said: "Your bones do not scare me
This war's not over and I think that we should meet
The temple, this Friday at 3"
I woke up early before school and I ran back to the spot
It was filled with traps, just like I thought
I tore them up and left a note, I said: "Is this some kind of joke?
There's much more to us than just old bones"
And the top of the castle is where we would meet next
This time the time and the place were things that we picked
We said: "no weapons" we said: "no tricks"
We did the best to hide the fact that we were just some little kids
We were just some little kids
I was scared when I saw him
He looked much older and I thought that he might be a Vet
Beastmaster climbed the wall and saw he had a rifle hidden on a rope hanging in the pit
I said: "We said no weapons!" and called him out on it
He didn't know how I could know until he turned around
Beastmaster had climbed right up behind him
And didn't make a sound
And we really had him now
We talked for a while with this stranger about the natives of this land, our gangs, and nature
When we got home again
We didn't know what to think of him
But it seemed like the war was over and the trees held no more danger
I was sad to see it go
A few days later I ran in to him alone
At the place that used to be his old gang's base
He told me stories of their glory days
Before his friends grew up or they moved away
And we decided that day that we would build something new
We would build it together, it would represent our truce
And as I got to know him, it was easy to see that he was just a kid who loved the woods like me
He was a friend, he was not an enemy
We made our enemies our friends
We should have never been enemies with them
We made our enemies our friends
And our gang got twice as big
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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.
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/
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
Cool song. Did anyone else notice that at the end he says 'our gang got twice as big', although there was only one other person that joined? Implying that there was only one member to begin with. Which makes me think that BeastMaster and Hawk are not meant to be real people, but figments of the imagination, and this whole story is just one person's fantasy.