"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.
Oh, the blizzard's never seen the desert sands
I will set the tempo low in my commands
Come follow down the highway once trailed by my golden calf
Oh, the blizzard's never seen the desert sands
And I will drive it like a shepherd to the sun
It's the easiest decision I have done
Come follow down the highway once trailed by my golden calf
Oh, the blizzard's never seen the desert sands
And the bells up in the towers they will ring
And the frightened little choirs they will sing
They will tremble on their voices like it's from another shore
Oh, the frightened little choirs they will sing
I will sit up in the saddle of the storm
I will ride across the sea I stand before
Though the people on the beaches weigh just nothing bout themselves
I will sit up in the saddle of the storm
Oh, the blizzard's never seen the desert sands
And I never understood a written plan
I have set my house on fire 'cause I don't need it anymore
Oh, the blizzard's never seen the desert sands
I will set the tempo low in my commands
Come follow down the highway once trailed by my golden calf
Oh, the blizzard's never seen the desert sands
And I will drive it like a shepherd to the sun
It's the easiest decision I have done
Come follow down the highway once trailed by my golden calf
Oh, the blizzard's never seen the desert sands
And the bells up in the towers they will ring
And the frightened little choirs they will sing
They will tremble on their voices like it's from another shore
Oh, the frightened little choirs they will sing
I will sit up in the saddle of the storm
I will ride across the sea I stand before
Though the people on the beaches weigh just nothing bout themselves
I will sit up in the saddle of the storm
Oh, the blizzard's never seen the desert sands
And I never understood a written plan
I have set my house on fire 'cause I don't need it anymore
Oh, the blizzard's never seen the desert sands
Lyrics submitted by chickenflicker
The Blizzard's Never Seen the Desert Sands Lyrics as written by Kristian Matsson
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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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.
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Yo La Tengo
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
I think this song is about leaving something and finding everything.
I get the same idea as Julietson. If it's self-expressive in the least, maybe it's about travelling to America to play American Folk-styled music as a Swedish native. Not to say there's anything wrong with that; the dude is outstanding. It's a great song.