"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.
Picture yourself
Set up for good in a whole other life
In the mystery zone
Make us a house
Some far away town
Where nobody will know us well
Where your dad's not around
And all the trouble you look for all your life
You will find it for sure
In the mystery zone
Times that we met
Before we met
Times that we met
We'll go there
To the mystery zone
Ah the mystery zone
There goes the rider
At gates of dawn
He takes no prisoners at all
He'll be there on his own
What gets him gone
Off down that road
Is something he don't understand
Ooh! The mystery zone
Maybe all he wants
Maybe all he needs
Is to know that the sun don't set
On the mystery zone
How come it feels so familiar
When you never been there?
How come it seems so unreachable
You never tried to find
Never tired to find the mystery zone
Mystery zone, oooh!
All of the people
You used to run into but never do now
They took off for the mystery zone
And when you know love
When you find it for real
It contains the emotion sense of
Everyone ready
Your cover was blown
You weren't there but you were
Ooh in the mystery zone
You weren't there but you were
You weren't there but you were
Openin' windows
Doors never close it's the fresh air fiend
It's the information troll
We'll pack a bag
Sendin' it off just some things that never fit right
To the m
And we'll send it ahead as a test so we'll know
Call it up when it gets there
"What's it like in the mystery zone?"
The times that we met
Before we met
We'll go back there
Oh, times that we met
We'll go back
We'll go back there
The mystery zone
To the mystery zone
The mystery zone
Oh the mys
Set up for good in a whole other life
In the mystery zone
Make us a house
Some far away town
Where nobody will know us well
Where your dad's not around
And all the trouble you look for all your life
You will find it for sure
In the mystery zone
Times that we met
Before we met
Times that we met
We'll go there
To the mystery zone
Ah the mystery zone
There goes the rider
At gates of dawn
He takes no prisoners at all
He'll be there on his own
What gets him gone
Off down that road
Is something he don't understand
Ooh! The mystery zone
Maybe all he wants
Maybe all he needs
Is to know that the sun don't set
On the mystery zone
How come it feels so familiar
When you never been there?
How come it seems so unreachable
You never tried to find
Never tired to find the mystery zone
Mystery zone, oooh!
All of the people
You used to run into but never do now
They took off for the mystery zone
And when you know love
When you find it for real
It contains the emotion sense of
Everyone ready
Your cover was blown
You weren't there but you were
Ooh in the mystery zone
You weren't there but you were
You weren't there but you were
Openin' windows
Doors never close it's the fresh air fiend
It's the information troll
We'll pack a bag
Sendin' it off just some things that never fit right
To the m
And we'll send it ahead as a test so we'll know
Call it up when it gets there
"What's it like in the mystery zone?"
The times that we met
Before we met
We'll go back there
Oh, times that we met
We'll go back
We'll go back there
The mystery zone
To the mystery zone
The mystery zone
Oh the mys
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'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."
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
i guess the real key to this song is figuring out what exactly "the mystery zone" is, right?
i think it's the place where possibilities lie. everything that will happen and everything that could happen lives there, only to show themselves at the right (or wrong) time.
This song is fucking amazing.
The way Spoon uses their instruments is amazing, I swear they limit themselves to only 2 instruments at a time for most of every song. Its really lightweight music that has a lot of empty space, and seems to make the songs seem really surreal but perfect.
I remember hearing that Socrates believed in an immortal soul, and he thought it would explain things like deja vu. Some of the lines in Mystery Zone remind me of that, and the idea that maybe you could have known someone in a past life ("times that we met, before we met"; "how come it feels so familiar, when you've never been there?") and maybe will know them again in another, recognizing them as your soulmate ("when you know love, when you find it for real, it contains the emotion sense of...")
I don't think the song is actually ABOUT this, I think that's sort of the poetry being used to talk about young love and running away together into new possibilities.
love this track!
I think it's about love and the emotions that go with it and how people do things without really knowing why. We all view love in certain ways, and see picture perfect scenarios that may not be real but we want to try and make them real and try to find the ones who will make that real.
I love the line:
"where your Dad's not around and all the trouble you look for all your life you will find it for sure"
"Times that we met before we met"
"How come it feels so familiar when you've never been there" ...speaks for itself. it's like a nostalgic feeling.
Awesome track!!
"? will die" = "at gates of dawn" I believe.
Another use of "picture" as a verb/synonym for "imagine".
Picture yourself in a living room... I'll picture for you, if you picture for me...
I like this song a lot, I wasn't too caught by it when I first got Tranferance, but it's grown on me a lot.
"The times that we met before we met, we'll go back there" reminds me of someone in a crowd catching your attention before you really say "Hi" or talk to them or get to know them better. I guess that's the "mystery zone", like what lifeonthehorizon was saying.
Boy I butchered that title fer sure.
Am I the only one who thinks of the flash-sideways scenes from the final season of Lost when I hear this?
To me this song is all about leaving your comfort zone and what will happen if you do not try to do so. You are basically doomed to a monotonous boring life if you do not take a risk and step into the mystery zone..
absolutely love this track!!<br /> <br /> This is Spoon essential. <br /> <br /> Lyrically, it's a masterpiece.<br /> <br /> It conveys that sense of longing, nostalgia, where you're headed. <br /> We're all looking for something whether it be love, an adventure.<br /> We don't know how to find it, where we're going, but we know we have to do it.<br /> And this song is a reflection of that...of someone who's done that.<br /> <br /> It is the only song that seems to enhance the meaning by an abrupt cut-off ending.<br /> Seriously...go listen to it!
This may be irrelevant but there's a line in the book 'Catcher in the Rye' where the character describes his room mate as a 'fresh-air fiend'.
Britt has said in the past that he tends to make songs, and write the lyrics to fit the mood he's created, and flows with it, making it come across as obtuse to some. I personally think this song is just people striving to reach a place that they can't quite describe,
"How come it feels so familiar when you never been there? How come it seems so unreachable you never tried to find never tired to find the mystery zone"
^ I like those lyrics especially, there's a nostalgic and well - mysterious feel in the ambiguity.
Check out the demo version if its still on their site, its a great alternate
I love this song .. definitely my fav song from the album.
I think it's about how people search for the unknown to fill a perceived hole they have in themselves. i.e. "once I lose this extra weight, THEN I'll be happy!"; "once I find the perfect girl (or guy), THEN I'll be happy!", or the perfect house, location, job, etc. Often it can be an undefined longing for something that feels out of reach ... a lot of people feel this way, I think, which is sad.
My favorite line is "times that we met, before that we met". Also "you weren't there, but you were" ... it perfectly describes that deja vu longing that keeps returning. People often repeat this pattern in relationships or keep making the same mistakes because they don't know what's really driving them .. like "the rider" in the song, chasing "something he don't understand".
Fucking great song, and the music fits it perfectly. The main motif sounds like something out of an old 60's horror or mystery film.
You ever sit alone and think or stare into space about situations on how you would like to see unfold? Maybe that's what the Mystery Zone could be.