"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 can't blame you for tryin'
With broken glass halos on your feet
Free shoes, free books for every kid you meet
Join the serenade on your street
You better rest, then run
You better rest, then run
You better rest, then run
'Cos the brothers off the block never had that luck
The courage to die for your people
You better set those brothers free
The courage to die for what you believe in
Set those brothers free
You better set those brothers free
Read about Cable Street in the papers
Liverpool dockers with desperate measures
Determined destiny with broken by the bowed down bows
And leather rifles look so mean
Give 'em what they need
You better rest, then run
You better rest, then run
'Cos the brothers on the block never had no luck
The courage to die for your people
You better set those brothers free
Father, son, and brother
Together in unity
Oh, you gotta set those brothers free
As the fires go low on your faithful soul
Gotta reeducate the high streets Joe
You get a bullet in the back for all the promise beaten back
You get a bullet in the back for all the promise beaten back
You transcend street corner singer at the age of 22
Now what you gonna do
And there's a junkie sunrise over Oakland Bridge
And there's a junkie sunrise over Oakland Bridge
And there's a junkie sunrise over Vauxhall Bridge
And there's a junkie sunrise over Vauxhall Bridge
You better rest, then run
You better rest, then run
You better rest, then run
You better rest, then run
'Cos the brothers off the block never had no luck
The courage to die for your people
You better set those brothers free
The courage to die for what you believe in
Revolutionary, dead and buried
He's a revolutionary, yeah
He's a revolutionary
Oh, he's a revolutionary
With broken glass halos on your feet
Free shoes, free books for every kid you meet
Join the serenade on your street
You better rest, then run
You better rest, then run
You better rest, then run
'Cos the brothers off the block never had that luck
The courage to die for your people
You better set those brothers free
The courage to die for what you believe in
Set those brothers free
You better set those brothers free
Read about Cable Street in the papers
Liverpool dockers with desperate measures
Determined destiny with broken by the bowed down bows
And leather rifles look so mean
Give 'em what they need
You better rest, then run
You better rest, then run
'Cos the brothers on the block never had no luck
The courage to die for your people
You better set those brothers free
Father, son, and brother
Together in unity
Oh, you gotta set those brothers free
As the fires go low on your faithful soul
Gotta reeducate the high streets Joe
You get a bullet in the back for all the promise beaten back
You get a bullet in the back for all the promise beaten back
You transcend street corner singer at the age of 22
Now what you gonna do
And there's a junkie sunrise over Oakland Bridge
And there's a junkie sunrise over Oakland Bridge
And there's a junkie sunrise over Vauxhall Bridge
And there's a junkie sunrise over Vauxhall Bridge
You better rest, then run
You better rest, then run
You better rest, then run
You better rest, then run
'Cos the brothers off the block never had no luck
The courage to die for your people
You better set those brothers free
The courage to die for what you believe in
Revolutionary, dead and buried
He's a revolutionary, yeah
He's a revolutionary
Oh, he's a revolutionary
Lyrics submitted by modernrocksong
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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.
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.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.