"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.
Saturday, when the hair comes down
All the girls in town gonna dress the place
In blue-eyed green-eyed brown-eyed light
All the boys with desire of night
Gonna lose their feet gonna lose their mind
In drinking fighting sweat and lust
We play the game of weaving ducking dodging hiding
Through the hormonal battle on the streets
Then we reach our destination
It is consolation for star-people constellation
Sadness in rags won't feel the pain
Of sadness in silks and golden chains
Take off your shirt
And give it to the one with fur coats and shiny shoes
Sadness in rags won't feel the pain
Of sadness in silks and golden chains
Take off your shirt
And give it to the one with fur coats and shiny shoes
On Sunday when the streets are bare
Reminders of the party there
Red devil horns dropped in the road
Tiaras made of plastic gold
A bloody puddle stains the floor
Outside the boarded nightclub door
And all the one night love is jaded
When all the memories have faded...
Sadness in rags won't feel the pain
Of sadness in silks and golden chains
Take off your shirt
And give it to the one with fur coats and shiny shoes
Sadness in rags won't feel the pain
Of sadness in silks and golden chains
Take off your shirt
And give it to the one with fur coats and shiny shoes
Saturday, when the hair comes down
All the girls in town gonna dress the place
In blue-eyed green-eyed brown-eyed light
All the boys with desire of night
Gonna lose their feet gonna lose their mind
In drinking fighting sweat and lust
We play the game of weaving ducking dodging hiding
Through the hormonal battle on the streets
Then we reach our destination
It is consolation for star-people constellation
Sadness in rags won't feel the pain
Of sadness in silks and golden chains
Take off your shirt
And give it to the one with fur coats and shiny shoes
Sadness in rags won't feel the pain
Of sadness in silks and golden chains
Take off your shirt
And give it to the one with fur coats and shiny shoes
Sadness in rags won't feel the pain
Of sadness in silks and golden chains
Take off your shirt
And give it to the one with fur coats and shiny shoes
All the girls in town gonna dress the place
In blue-eyed green-eyed brown-eyed light
All the boys with desire of night
Gonna lose their feet gonna lose their mind
In drinking fighting sweat and lust
We play the game of weaving ducking dodging hiding
Through the hormonal battle on the streets
Then we reach our destination
It is consolation for star-people constellation
Sadness in rags won't feel the pain
Of sadness in silks and golden chains
Take off your shirt
And give it to the one with fur coats and shiny shoes
Sadness in rags won't feel the pain
Of sadness in silks and golden chains
Take off your shirt
And give it to the one with fur coats and shiny shoes
On Sunday when the streets are bare
Reminders of the party there
Red devil horns dropped in the road
Tiaras made of plastic gold
A bloody puddle stains the floor
Outside the boarded nightclub door
And all the one night love is jaded
When all the memories have faded...
Sadness in rags won't feel the pain
Of sadness in silks and golden chains
Take off your shirt
And give it to the one with fur coats and shiny shoes
Sadness in rags won't feel the pain
Of sadness in silks and golden chains
Take off your shirt
And give it to the one with fur coats and shiny shoes
Saturday, when the hair comes down
All the girls in town gonna dress the place
In blue-eyed green-eyed brown-eyed light
All the boys with desire of night
Gonna lose their feet gonna lose their mind
In drinking fighting sweat and lust
We play the game of weaving ducking dodging hiding
Through the hormonal battle on the streets
Then we reach our destination
It is consolation for star-people constellation
Sadness in rags won't feel the pain
Of sadness in silks and golden chains
Take off your shirt
And give it to the one with fur coats and shiny shoes
Sadness in rags won't feel the pain
Of sadness in silks and golden chains
Take off your shirt
And give it to the one with fur coats and shiny shoes
Sadness in rags won't feel the pain
Of sadness in silks and golden chains
Take off your shirt
And give it to the one with fur coats and shiny shoes
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Wu-Tang Clan
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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.
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“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
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.
No comments? Surprising as this song pretty much rocks.
It's like Red Hot Chilli Peppers - except, y'know, really good.
I played this great song at a party recently. It really got people in the mood to rock and have a fun time that night.
What a great song. It is quite different from a lot of Bibio's other songs. Really rocks it.