"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.
This song is about you
'Cause I can't live without you
When a song is about you
Then you know you've got problems
That you can choose
There's a hole in my conscience
There's a hole in my country
Like a nose that keeps running
Like a hose that won't stop flowing
And I know that it's coming
It's coming
It's coming
It's coming soon
Here's why
'Cause you are the ocean
And I'm good at drowning
(You should be looking out)
The morning will follow
And I wont remember
(You should be looking out)
It feels like I've been here
I've been here forever
(You should be looking out)
You should be looking out
In the fall I get lonely
In the winter I'm still lonely
Come the knives of the springtime
In the summer I go crazy
'Cause you are the ocean
And I'm good at drowning
(You should be looking out)
The morning will follow
And I wont remember
(You should be looking out)
It feels like I've been here
I've been here forever
(You should be looking out)
You should be looking out
'Cause I can't live without you
When a song is about you
Then you know you've got problems
That you can choose
There's a hole in my conscience
There's a hole in my country
Like a nose that keeps running
Like a hose that won't stop flowing
And I know that it's coming
It's coming
It's coming
It's coming soon
Here's why
'Cause you are the ocean
And I'm good at drowning
(You should be looking out)
The morning will follow
And I wont remember
(You should be looking out)
It feels like I've been here
I've been here forever
(You should be looking out)
You should be looking out
In the fall I get lonely
In the winter I'm still lonely
Come the knives of the springtime
In the summer I go crazy
'Cause you are the ocean
And I'm good at drowning
(You should be looking out)
The morning will follow
And I wont remember
(You should be looking out)
It feels like I've been here
I've been here forever
(You should be looking out)
You should be looking out
Lyrics submitted by RyanWilhite
You Are the Ocean Lyrics as written by Sarah Barthel Joshua Carter
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
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.
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.
sounds to me like an alcohol enthusiast.