"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.
See all people in Afghanistan
Praying to the gods and living in the sand
Somebody's gonna have to set them free,
Nobody hears the call or command
But it's a long way to Harlem,
And a long stretch to the king of Siam
And if you don't have a penny,
Why should I give a damn?
Ad Hominem.
You think you're better than I am?
Ad Hominem.
You think you're better than I am
See all the suckers in the handout line
Living on scraps and they don't have a dime
Waiting for endless charity devoid of any sense of posterity
Well there's no Great Depression and there's no Great Society
And only few go to heaven, all the rest are damned and free
Ad Hominem.
You think you're better than I am?
Ad Hominem.
You think you're better than I am
I'm just a soft-cover version of a much harder tale
A walking resemblance of ruts in the trail
Is it possible to divide your ideas and beliefs
Ideas and beliefs
Ideas and beliefs from the people that you don't like?
Ad Hominem.
You think you're better than I am?
Ad Hominem.
You think you're better than I am
Praying to the gods and living in the sand
Somebody's gonna have to set them free,
Nobody hears the call or command
But it's a long way to Harlem,
And a long stretch to the king of Siam
And if you don't have a penny,
Why should I give a damn?
Ad Hominem.
You think you're better than I am?
Ad Hominem.
You think you're better than I am
See all the suckers in the handout line
Living on scraps and they don't have a dime
Waiting for endless charity devoid of any sense of posterity
Well there's no Great Depression and there's no Great Society
And only few go to heaven, all the rest are damned and free
Ad Hominem.
You think you're better than I am?
Ad Hominem.
You think you're better than I am
I'm just a soft-cover version of a much harder tale
A walking resemblance of ruts in the trail
Is it possible to divide your ideas and beliefs
Ideas and beliefs
Ideas and beliefs from the people that you don't like?
Ad Hominem.
You think you're better than I am?
Ad Hominem.
You think you're better than I am
Lyrics submitted by BatteryLegion
Ad Hominem Lyrics as written by Greg Graffin Brett W. Gurewitz
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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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.
No Surprises
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
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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/
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
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Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Ad Hominem, Literally translated as "To the person" is an expression for an argument addressing, not the facts at hand but rather the character of the opposing party.
It is a method often employed by the fervently religious against secular progression in virtually any way, as religion generally has the monopoly on a "source of morality" i.e. a deity whom hands down clean cut rules and regulations. While, since the primary purpose is to appeal to basic human emotions, an Ad Hominem argument can appeal greatly to sway minds, upon further inspection it often neglects to give any real answer to the question at hand.
jtpow, That's a great example of ad hominem. One point of advice though. Don't blame someone of such a thing when you're doing it as well. We all do it. Even you. I find it very close minded to point out religios persons when there are millions of examples. How about every politician? You mommy and daddy. Your friends? I've been in the punk scene for many years and Bad Religion is my favorite band of all time. Does being religious make me less punk? NO! While you go along spouting out what your friends and bands say, I decided to think for myself and do what's best for me. But of course everybody knows what's best for you so you might be right. But remember, no Bad Religion song can make your life complete.
Well said. In perusing the comments on just a few of their songs, I'm a bit dismayed to see how many fans of BR don't seem to really get what the band is about. It seems many feel that every song is an attack on religion just because of the name of the band; in reality, even those BR songs that actually do criticize religion aren't so much critizing religion itself, so much as it's propensity for spawning dogmatic modes of thought. All ideologies can result in dogmamatic thinking, be they religious, political or even scientific, and thus why all are challenged in numerous BR songs.
While you have completely legitimate criticism, I think you are making a big mistake.<br /> Bad Religion asks us to consider EVERYTHING critically, the fact that EVERYONE uses ad hominim is merely proof that no one can be trusted at face value, even yourself. Consider, reflect, and reconsider. No Bad Religion song can make your life complete, to believe that it does is to take the content of what they say without critical thinking, which is the fundamental message.<br /> You can be religious and agree with Bad Religion's message, as long as you do so in a critical manner. So while you can believe in Jesus and believe in the fundamental message of love and peace, you need to be able to breakdown the biases that religions have pushed on the world because of their false teachings.
@manchez I'm struggling to understand that reasoning. Jtpow addressed the idea of religious people often turning to ad hominems to defend their beliefs as an example. Which is a very legitimate example. <br /> In turn you criticised him of using an ad hominem, when he never addressed anybody personally; but instead addressed the idea (which we have already established as not being an ad hominem.) <br /> You then said that everyone uses ad hominems including his mommy and daddy. Then you persisted to say that no bad religion song will make his life complete. <br /> This is litterally the definition of irony. Instead of addressing the issue at hand, ---which was that you thought it was unfair that he used religion as his sole example; you attacked him by calling him close minded. <br />
argument arising from or appealing to the emotions and not reason or logic *attacking an opponent's motives or character rather than the policy or position they maintain
latin is hard and concise.
Like others said, "Ad Hominem" attacks are when you attack the person, not what he or she is saying. You pay no attention to the facts, you just attack the other person.
"Is it possible to divide your ideas and beliefs from the people you don't like?" is the point of the song. If you don't like what a person has to say, you should criticize what the person says with your own facts. Don't just attack the other person.
"You must not be dedicated to your religion. You like the punk band Bad Religion" - Ad Hominem.