"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.
You've got your pretty face. You've got disarming eyes.
You've got such social grace. I've got my pretty spies.
I found you lost, misplaced. I loved that lovely guise.
I said I'd try my luck and you said, Well you don't have to try.
I forgot that night, what you said that night: I had the most exquisite time.
Well you got that right, but it's not the whole story. I want it all.
I court the loveliest of crimes. Say it as if it were true.
We've got the knife you left behind. Play it just like you do.
I wanna hear you mean it when you say I'm not next in line.
I court the loveliest of crimes. Save it 'cause we've got the knife.
You've got your pretty face. You've got your stunning glow.
You've got exquisite taste. I've got the marks to show.
You said you'd shoot the stars, but bullets make you blush.
Turns out you like to play with knives, and I hear that it gives you a rush.
Well we've got the knife, yeah we've got the knife. I've got the knife you left behind.
Well we've got the knife. Now I want the whole story. I want it all.
I thought you looked familiar. I'd seen your face long before that night.
Now I wait, for you were no stranger to taking a life... OH!
You've got such social grace. I've got my pretty spies.
I found you lost, misplaced. I loved that lovely guise.
I said I'd try my luck and you said, Well you don't have to try.
I forgot that night, what you said that night: I had the most exquisite time.
Well you got that right, but it's not the whole story. I want it all.
I court the loveliest of crimes. Say it as if it were true.
We've got the knife you left behind. Play it just like you do.
I wanna hear you mean it when you say I'm not next in line.
I court the loveliest of crimes. Save it 'cause we've got the knife.
You've got your pretty face. You've got your stunning glow.
You've got exquisite taste. I've got the marks to show.
You said you'd shoot the stars, but bullets make you blush.
Turns out you like to play with knives, and I hear that it gives you a rush.
Well we've got the knife, yeah we've got the knife. I've got the knife you left behind.
Well we've got the knife. Now I want the whole story. I want it all.
I thought you looked familiar. I'd seen your face long before that night.
Now I wait, for you were no stranger to taking a life... OH!
Lyrics submitted by x_storyat_3
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Fast Car
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"'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
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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
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
It kind of remimds me of Miss Murder. I like how it cuts off at the end.
The most important line for me is "I court the loveliest of crimes". It's like he's saying he dates beautiful people but they're dangerous. Something along those lines, like he knows it's bad but he loves it.
Well, it's not completely accurate, but I think I know a close meaning. The general meaning being he tried to get into a relationship with someone and was already warned by multiple sources that said person is a "heartbreaker".
You've got your pretty face. You've got disarming eyes. (This is what he says the person has going for them, and how they can use it against someone)
You've got such social grace. I've got my pretty spies. (meaning the person was quite social, and he has sources warning him about that person)
I found you lost, misplaced. I loved that lovely guise. (Meaning he found them when they were in a broken time, where they acted hopeless. "I loved that lovely guise" meaning he loved the act they put up.)
I said I'd try my luck and you said, Well you don't have to try. (He said he's try to be with that person, and that person said he didn't have to try because she'd "build him up to knock him down" so to speak)
I forgot that night, what you said that night: I had the most exquisite time. (Possible sex-relation or just a time they went out and had a good time. He remembered what they had said after it, which is they enjoyed it)
Well you got that right, but it's not the whole story. I want it all. (He agrees by saying "well, you got that right" but he knows a lot more about how this person had broken hearts and he wants to know all about it)
I court the loveliest of crimes. Say it as if it were true. (He wants to know what they honestly, truly think about them)
We've got the knife you left behind. Play it just like you do. ("we've got the knife you left behind" meaning, he has evidence or possibly a friend that warned him of this person, meaning they left that evidence behind. "Play it just like you do" means, in translation "You said that exact same thing to this other person")
I wanna hear you mean it when you say I'm not next in line. (He wants to have a serious relationship with that person, and he wants to know truthfully that he just isn't another "date and ditch" person, for lack of a better term)
I court the loveliest of crimes. Save it 'cause we've got the knife. ("I court the loveliest of crimes" - lovely because he is obviously infatuated with them, but is confronting them about their past experiences. "Save it 'cause we've got the knife" - Translation "Look, i know you're just going to ditch me like the rest because you're doing the same things you did to them as you're doing to me, so I know this isn't serious to you)
You've got your pretty face. You've got your stunning glow. You've got exquisite taste. I've got the marks to show. (He is pointing out everything good about the person once more. "I've got the marks to show" - basically he's saying he's had past experiences similar to this,, he knows how it's going to turn out)
You said you'd shoot the stars, but bullets make you blush. (They claim that may have happened but they regret it)
Turns out you like to play with knives, and I hear that it gives you a rush. (In reality, they do it all the time, and it feeds their "need for attention" and they really don't have any remorse)
Well we've got the knife, yeah we've got the knife. I've got the knife you left behind. Well we've got the knife. Now I want the whole story. I want it all. (He's saying "I have all the evidence I need to know you've done this to other people and said the same things to them as you are to me, so I need to know TRUTHFULLY if you're serious about this)
I thought you looked familiar. I'd seen your face long before that night. (he'd possibly seen the person with one of his friends or maybe even just in the street one day with a past "target")
Now I wait, for you were no stranger to taking a life... OH! (He waits for his time to be ditched because the person has done it so many other times)
I actually completely compared this to how it was for me at one point, and when i listened to the song, it reminded me of it COMPLETELY so I thought this might be a completely metaphorical version of what I went through.