"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.
Sadly masculine his naked body lies beside me,
stretched out on the pale sheets
of my otherwise deserted bed.
I do not know how he got here.
I am not even sure, if I am hiding him.
Trophy or lost property ... --
did I drag him to this place,
slave to some dark desire,
or have I merely found him here
in childlike innocence and curiosity?
Assuming blackness,
his left nipple is now facing me ... --
the same old symbol for reality,
further than ever from attraction
(except, of course, for crawling things).
But we're all crawling on some floor ... -
you will not tease me, nevermore !!!
His head now points towards the window in the west,
his feet towards the door,
his limbs in slight disorder
after my vain attempt to move him over
to a slightly different position.
I fear that the disturbance of his rest
has caused some liquid "correspondence"
to escape his quiet, oh so human shell.
What secrets do you hide in there?
Leaning my face against the left side of his flesh,
I place my right hand gently now upon his belly,
hoping not to wake the horrors of that
half-forgotten sense ...
I can't believe that I do actually consider this again:
I must refuse to share my bed now
with carcass of a man!
No vicious jokes to break the fragile little heart,
this is the deeper secret of the worlds we are apart ...
Is this perhaps some kind of test?
Shall I have vengeance on your flesh?
Now that you're dead am I supposed
to inflict that sentence on your corpse?
To pay you back the laughter,
that never really flooded from your mouth.
Would your thin lips have ever released
such agony and shame on me?
Scared to death by and of my own request ... --
maybe like this it's really for the best.
I'll seal your carcass with a kiss ... and let you disappear...
stretched out on the pale sheets
of my otherwise deserted bed.
I do not know how he got here.
I am not even sure, if I am hiding him.
Trophy or lost property ... --
did I drag him to this place,
slave to some dark desire,
or have I merely found him here
in childlike innocence and curiosity?
Assuming blackness,
his left nipple is now facing me ... --
the same old symbol for reality,
further than ever from attraction
(except, of course, for crawling things).
But we're all crawling on some floor ... -
you will not tease me, nevermore !!!
His head now points towards the window in the west,
his feet towards the door,
his limbs in slight disorder
after my vain attempt to move him over
to a slightly different position.
I fear that the disturbance of his rest
has caused some liquid "correspondence"
to escape his quiet, oh so human shell.
What secrets do you hide in there?
Leaning my face against the left side of his flesh,
I place my right hand gently now upon his belly,
hoping not to wake the horrors of that
half-forgotten sense ...
I can't believe that I do actually consider this again:
I must refuse to share my bed now
with carcass of a man!
No vicious jokes to break the fragile little heart,
this is the deeper secret of the worlds we are apart ...
Is this perhaps some kind of test?
Shall I have vengeance on your flesh?
Now that you're dead am I supposed
to inflict that sentence on your corpse?
To pay you back the laughter,
that never really flooded from your mouth.
Would your thin lips have ever released
such agony and shame on me?
Scared to death by and of my own request ... --
maybe like this it's really for the best.
I'll seal your carcass with a kiss ... and let you disappear...
Lyrics submitted by sheela_l
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
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"
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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/
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.
The uncomfortable feeling of not belonging in your body. It's not you on the bed, but someone else.