"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 met this girl when I was 21
and what I loved the most, she was um- fun
not the average, promiscuous alcoholic
had a feeling when I met her, didn't know what to call it
and so I speculated, maybe it was love at first sight
got home and just started to write, that first night
must've spent three hours putting my thoughts into words
trying to make a written copy of her
and so eventually, this girl got to me mentally
essentially, I got thinking that we was meant to be, it was destiny
but uh, just in case, couldn't leave it to chance
so I began calculate my advance
foolproof till those critical stages when she'd recede and retract
like Bruce Lee in the midst of attack, taken aback, yo
I thought I loved her, was it all just a game?
but now it's clear she'll never feel the same and that's a shame 'cause-
'cause everyday I faced the same competition
while she was out of commission, we had some bouts of submission
call her position forbidden with that relationship status
she still engaged me in a game to see who's act was baddest
"De Principatabus"- I gladly called her out on the same
gave up on ever loving her and started loving the game
resist the urge to address, resist the urge to accost
inflict words, conflict hers or else the battle is lost
my strategy was enacted, impacted her to retreat
a taste of victory until I saw her sulk in defeat
it hurt me- and even after I had discovered
the only reason for her pain was from the game of another
her true colors, always playing by her own set of rules
maintain a lover, keep your cover, play the others for fools
I was a pawn in this garbage she started, never to finish
I took a walk and took the loss, my only option to win it
primary directive, primary directive (4x)
you can't say that I didn't try
turning the "you and me" into "us" before you hung me to dry, I
pull the shades while I wince a goodbye
'cause every time the sun sets, it's like it's ripped from the sky
now we'll never have our formal farewell
electronic correspondence till our egos swell
go well up all the facts, the brass tacks are meticulous
I practiced at compassion while you chose to act ambiguous
and we wasted a lot of time using the effort essential
to building bonds we've proven inconsequential
instrumental to the downfall was my personality
from previous relationship trials taken too casually
and actually, emotionally, I went beyond
while you were really leading me on
or maybe it was all just a case of wrong mind, wrong face
but it doesn't change the fact that I'm gone
and what I loved the most, she was um- fun
not the average, promiscuous alcoholic
had a feeling when I met her, didn't know what to call it
and so I speculated, maybe it was love at first sight
got home and just started to write, that first night
must've spent three hours putting my thoughts into words
trying to make a written copy of her
and so eventually, this girl got to me mentally
essentially, I got thinking that we was meant to be, it was destiny
but uh, just in case, couldn't leave it to chance
so I began calculate my advance
foolproof till those critical stages when she'd recede and retract
like Bruce Lee in the midst of attack, taken aback, yo
I thought I loved her, was it all just a game?
but now it's clear she'll never feel the same and that's a shame 'cause-
'cause everyday I faced the same competition
while she was out of commission, we had some bouts of submission
call her position forbidden with that relationship status
she still engaged me in a game to see who's act was baddest
"De Principatabus"- I gladly called her out on the same
gave up on ever loving her and started loving the game
resist the urge to address, resist the urge to accost
inflict words, conflict hers or else the battle is lost
my strategy was enacted, impacted her to retreat
a taste of victory until I saw her sulk in defeat
it hurt me- and even after I had discovered
the only reason for her pain was from the game of another
her true colors, always playing by her own set of rules
maintain a lover, keep your cover, play the others for fools
I was a pawn in this garbage she started, never to finish
I took a walk and took the loss, my only option to win it
primary directive, primary directive (4x)
you can't say that I didn't try
turning the "you and me" into "us" before you hung me to dry, I
pull the shades while I wince a goodbye
'cause every time the sun sets, it's like it's ripped from the sky
now we'll never have our formal farewell
electronic correspondence till our egos swell
go well up all the facts, the brass tacks are meticulous
I practiced at compassion while you chose to act ambiguous
and we wasted a lot of time using the effort essential
to building bonds we've proven inconsequential
instrumental to the downfall was my personality
from previous relationship trials taken too casually
and actually, emotionally, I went beyond
while you were really leading me on
or maybe it was all just a case of wrong mind, wrong face
but it doesn't change the fact that I'm gone
Lyrics submitted by dirtySeal
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Lord Huron
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
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.