"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 see you there,
Like a light in the sky
Don't give up,
And I'll fight
If you show me a sign
The monkeys in exile,
They're screaming because they know it's time
The city it sleeps,
Not knowing the reason why
We stop and stare,
'Cause we don't know where we're going
I see the stars on the horizon
I told a lie
I see you there like a light in the sky,
Don't give up,
And I'll fight
If you show me a sign
The world fills with darkness
No power line, no reason to shine
We'll sail off this ocean
And search out the reason why
We stop and stare,
'cause we don't know where we're going
We brave the cold,
We try to hide our fear
We stop and stare,
'Cause we don't know where we're going
I see the stars on the horizon
I told a lie
All I see is the flashing of lights,
I need to feel the heat,
Don't give up the fight
I see your pain is rough,
You're burning so bright
The castle sleeps,
The arches take aim
I feel the fire,
do you feel it the same?
All I see is the flashing of lights tonight
We stop and stare,
'Cause we don't know where we're going
I see the stars on the horizon
I told a lie
We stop and stare,
'Cause we don't know where we're going
We brave the cold,
we try to hide our fear
We stop and stare,
'Cause we don't know where we're going
I see the stars on the horizon
I told a lie
Like a light in the sky
Don't give up,
And I'll fight
If you show me a sign
The monkeys in exile,
They're screaming because they know it's time
The city it sleeps,
Not knowing the reason why
We stop and stare,
'Cause we don't know where we're going
I see the stars on the horizon
I told a lie
I see you there like a light in the sky,
Don't give up,
And I'll fight
If you show me a sign
The world fills with darkness
No power line, no reason to shine
We'll sail off this ocean
And search out the reason why
We stop and stare,
'cause we don't know where we're going
We brave the cold,
We try to hide our fear
We stop and stare,
'Cause we don't know where we're going
I see the stars on the horizon
I told a lie
All I see is the flashing of lights,
I need to feel the heat,
Don't give up the fight
I see your pain is rough,
You're burning so bright
The castle sleeps,
The arches take aim
I feel the fire,
do you feel it the same?
All I see is the flashing of lights tonight
We stop and stare,
'Cause we don't know where we're going
I see the stars on the horizon
I told a lie
We stop and stare,
'Cause we don't know where we're going
We brave the cold,
we try to hide our fear
We stop and stare,
'Cause we don't know where we're going
I see the stars on the horizon
I told a lie
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Fast Car
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The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
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Plastic Bag
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“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.