"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'm so postmodern I refuse to play this song live, instead I play "Creep" by Radiohead.
I'm so postmodern I put glad wrap on the toilet, poke it full of holes, and gate-crash show and tells.
I'm so postmodern that I remembered your birthday, reported you missing and told the police to bake a cake.
I'm so postmodern I held a MacGyver-themed party, put up an arsenal of craft weaponry and mucked up the revolution.
I'm so postmodern I created a superhero, Captain Maracas, saving the world through percussion.
I'm so postmodern that I went bushwalking through a camping store, gaffer-taped to a Christmas tree.
I'm so postmodern I bought my own skywriting bi-plane and crashed accidentally by writing a suicide note.
I'm so postmodern that I laminate pancakes, stir fry iced Vovo's and spread cruskit propaganda.
I'm so postmodern I wore a hyper-color wedding dress, it was bad luck when I saw myself.
I'm so postmodern I adapted a book into a movie, 41 hours of my Nan reading the book.
I'm so postmodern I had a dream about ????, woke up and wrote "yesterday" entirely in spoons.
I'm so postmodern that it's one nod for yes, two nods for no, and three nods I'm ???.
I'm so postmodern I prefer beer from a cask, spirits from a carnie, and powdered-wine sandwiches.
I'm so postmodern that I travelled back to 20 BC and told them about Google and now it's called "Google It"
I'm so postmodern I designed a talking Mr T. tea towel...
DRY THE FOOL!
I'm so postmodern that I had myself re-christened, invited only my ex-girlfriends, it was ok.
I'm so postmodern that I re-wrote Hamlet entirely from Simpsons quotes and facts that inter??
(Worst lyric ever)
There's more, but it gets confusing...
I'm so postmodern I put glad wrap on the toilet, poke it full of holes, and gate-crash show and tells.
I'm so postmodern that I remembered your birthday, reported you missing and told the police to bake a cake.
I'm so postmodern I held a MacGyver-themed party, put up an arsenal of craft weaponry and mucked up the revolution.
I'm so postmodern I created a superhero, Captain Maracas, saving the world through percussion.
I'm so postmodern that I went bushwalking through a camping store, gaffer-taped to a Christmas tree.
I'm so postmodern I bought my own skywriting bi-plane and crashed accidentally by writing a suicide note.
I'm so postmodern that I laminate pancakes, stir fry iced Vovo's and spread cruskit propaganda.
I'm so postmodern I wore a hyper-color wedding dress, it was bad luck when I saw myself.
I'm so postmodern I adapted a book into a movie, 41 hours of my Nan reading the book.
I'm so postmodern I had a dream about ????, woke up and wrote "yesterday" entirely in spoons.
I'm so postmodern that it's one nod for yes, two nods for no, and three nods I'm ???.
I'm so postmodern I prefer beer from a cask, spirits from a carnie, and powdered-wine sandwiches.
I'm so postmodern that I travelled back to 20 BC and told them about Google and now it's called "Google It"
I'm so postmodern I designed a talking Mr T. tea towel...
DRY THE FOOL!
I'm so postmodern that I had myself re-christened, invited only my ex-girlfriends, it was ok.
I'm so postmodern that I re-wrote Hamlet entirely from Simpsons quotes and facts that inter??
(Worst lyric ever)
There's more, but it gets confusing...
Lyrics submitted by matty337
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
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This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
When We Were Young
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Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
No Surprises
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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.