"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.
The other night we went to see Sam's play
Doin' the things that we want to
It was very physical it held you to the stage
Doin' the things that he want to ...
The guy's a cowboy from some rodeo
Doin' the things that we want to
The girl had once loved him, but now she want to go
Doin' the things that we want to ...
The man was bullish, the woman was a tease
Doin' the things that we want to
They fought with their words, their bodies and their deeds
Doin' the things that we want to
When they finished fighting, they excited the stage
Doin' the things that we want to
I was firmly struck by the way they had behaved
Doin' the things that we want to ...
It reminds me of the movies Marty made about New York
Doin' the things that we want to
Those frank and brutal movies that are so brilliant
Doin' the things that we want to
'Fool For Love' meet 'The Raging Bull'
Doin' the things that we want to
They're very inspirational, I love the things they do
Doin' the things that we want to ...
There's not much you hear on the radio today
Doin' the things that we want to
But you still can see a movie or a play
Doin' the things that we want to
Here's to 'Travis Bickle' and here's 'Johnny Boy'
Doin' the things that we want to
Growing up in the mean streets of New York
Doin' the things that we want to
I wrote this song 'cause I'd like to shake your hand
Doin' the things that we want to
In a way you guys are the best friends I ever had
Doin' the things that we want to ...
Doin' the things that we want to
It was very physical it held you to the stage
Doin' the things that he want to ...
The guy's a cowboy from some rodeo
Doin' the things that we want to
The girl had once loved him, but now she want to go
Doin' the things that we want to ...
The man was bullish, the woman was a tease
Doin' the things that we want to
They fought with their words, their bodies and their deeds
Doin' the things that we want to
When they finished fighting, they excited the stage
Doin' the things that we want to
I was firmly struck by the way they had behaved
Doin' the things that we want to ...
It reminds me of the movies Marty made about New York
Doin' the things that we want to
Those frank and brutal movies that are so brilliant
Doin' the things that we want to
'Fool For Love' meet 'The Raging Bull'
Doin' the things that we want to
They're very inspirational, I love the things they do
Doin' the things that we want to ...
There's not much you hear on the radio today
Doin' the things that we want to
But you still can see a movie or a play
Doin' the things that we want to
Here's to 'Travis Bickle' and here's 'Johnny Boy'
Doin' the things that we want to
Growing up in the mean streets of New York
Doin' the things that we want to
I wrote this song 'cause I'd like to shake your hand
Doin' the things that we want to
In a way you guys are the best friends I ever had
Doin' the things that we want to ...
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Doin' the Things That We Want To Lyrics as written by Lou Reed Lewis Allen Reed
Lyrics © SONY ATV MUSIC PUB LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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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"
Mountain Song
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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/
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
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Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
This is one of my favorite songs. "Doin' the things that we want to" is such a simple line but it means a lot. It's a happy celebration of life and being free and having opportunities but at the same time it's saying everything is so subjective it borders on meaninglessness if the only thing we have to guide us is our preferences which are so petty and are changing all the time. I think it's basically about watching a play and noticing that life is like a play. It just goes on and it's kind of ridiculous because nobody is really aware they are just caught up in their small mindedness. I think "Doin' the things that we want to" is also a comment on art because he says Sam was doing what he wanted to with the play and in art pretty much anything goes and that can be liberating but maybe it gets self-indulgent after a little while. I think "Doing the things that we want to" was like the whole attitude behind the Velvet Underground and they transcended a lot of boundaries of expression but they actually did have substance, it wasn't just doing whatever you felt like for it's own sake, like a lot of people in music have been doing since then and it is getting old. Hence "There's not much you hear on the radio today." "In a way you guys the best friends I ever had" could be saying people that understand his music are his best friends which is kinda sad if you think about it. It's like people who think their best friends are like Thoreau or something. I like the way this song starts to rock out like halfway through. Ok, I'll shut up now.
I thought he was making fun of Sam and Martin, because I thought Lou was always kidding.
Then I grew up, and learned more about Lou's life, and now I know that he really does think that they, or their characters, are the best friends he's ever had (in a way).
He asked about different songwriters I'd interviewed, and when I mentioned Lou Reed, Dylan talked about Reed's "Doin' the Things That We Want To" and its reference to Sam Shephard's play "Fool For Love." He said that Reed's song had inspired Dylan and Shephard to write a sort of response - which emerged in 1986 as "Brownsville Girl." Dylan said that just as Reed's song opened with the narrator at the play, the Shephard/Dylan song would open with the narrator at the movie. Maybe what's most surprising about Bob Dylan is that once you connect with his vision, everything he says makes sense.
interferenza.com/bcs/interw/85-mar.htm