"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.
Aw yeah
What I like the brothers and sisters
In the audience to do right about now
Including y'all in the back
I want you to snap your fingers like this, c'mon, c'mon
Aw, c'mon, I know y'all got rhythm, c'mon
Everybody snap your fingers like this
Every single soul, c'mon
Aw, what's goin' on right about here is center stage
It's about a brotha, it's what a brotha does
When he's gettin' ready for a date, ha ha, yeah
My mom likes to call it 'The Gettin''
She calls it 'the getting'' because the brotha's gettin' slick
Gettin' ready, gettin' snazzy
Gettin' prepared for a dinner
And gettin' prepared for an even mo' betta dessert
If you understand what I'm talking about?
I think this sista and brotha know
What I'm talking about, check this out
Gettin' jazzy, gettin' snazzy, alright
But you probably ain't gettin' it on, oh yeah
Brotha man, brotha man
Brotha man thinks he's gonna knock boots tonight
You know what I'm talkin' about?
I think brotha man think he's gonna
Do the nasty tonight, alright? I think brotha man thinks he's gonna
Umm, hit the skins tonight
If you know what I'm talking about, alright
I said, "Yo baby, yo baby, yo baby, yo uh", yeah
Ah, but the sistas ain't down
With that type of stuff no mo', you see
They decided, yo
We ain't gotta have materialism type of stuff
We want somethin' mo' than that
Am I right sistas?
Ah yeah, so you know, um
Brotha man is wearing the most expensive clothes
The most expensive watch
The most expensive Calvin Klein jeans
And all those type of thang
But the sistas don't give a dang
Because a sista's got her own thang goin' on
She wants a real man, you know what I'm talking about, yeah
Well, I tried to tell the brotha
I said, "Brotha man, sistas don't want that type
Of thang in the black community anymore"
We lookin' for somethin' a little bit deeper
Gettin' jazzy, gettin' snazzy
But you probably ain't gettin' it on
Oh, gettin' jazzy, gettin' snazzy
But you probably ain't gettin' it on
And all the brotha had to really do was to be upset
What I like the brothers and sisters
In the audience to do right about now
Including y'all in the back
I want you to snap your fingers like this, c'mon, c'mon
Aw, c'mon, I know y'all got rhythm, c'mon
Everybody snap your fingers like this
Every single soul, c'mon
Aw, what's goin' on right about here is center stage
It's about a brotha, it's what a brotha does
When he's gettin' ready for a date, ha ha, yeah
My mom likes to call it 'The Gettin''
She calls it 'the getting'' because the brotha's gettin' slick
Gettin' ready, gettin' snazzy
Gettin' prepared for a dinner
And gettin' prepared for an even mo' betta dessert
If you understand what I'm talking about?
I think this sista and brotha know
What I'm talking about, check this out
Gettin' jazzy, gettin' snazzy, alright
But you probably ain't gettin' it on, oh yeah
Brotha man, brotha man
Brotha man thinks he's gonna knock boots tonight
You know what I'm talkin' about?
I think brotha man think he's gonna
Do the nasty tonight, alright? I think brotha man thinks he's gonna
Umm, hit the skins tonight
If you know what I'm talking about, alright
I said, "Yo baby, yo baby, yo baby, yo uh", yeah
Ah, but the sistas ain't down
With that type of stuff no mo', you see
They decided, yo
We ain't gotta have materialism type of stuff
We want somethin' mo' than that
Am I right sistas?
Ah yeah, so you know, um
Brotha man is wearing the most expensive clothes
The most expensive watch
The most expensive Calvin Klein jeans
And all those type of thang
But the sistas don't give a dang
Because a sista's got her own thang goin' on
She wants a real man, you know what I'm talking about, yeah
Well, I tried to tell the brotha
I said, "Brotha man, sistas don't want that type
Of thang in the black community anymore"
We lookin' for somethin' a little bit deeper
Gettin' jazzy, gettin' snazzy
But you probably ain't gettin' it on
Oh, gettin' jazzy, gettin' snazzy
But you probably ain't gettin' it on
And all the brotha had to really do was to be upset
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
The Gettin' Lyrics as written by Todd Thomas Mark Batson
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing 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"
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Hayalperest
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
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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.
Amazing
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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.