"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 only fuck wit those, who only fuck wit me
A sucka' play for games, a man play for keeps
I keeps me a nine millimeter just in case
A coward's in my face
These bullets he gon taste
A waste of your life, steppin' wrong, I'm on trees
Best ta leave me alone, best ta go make some cheese
Enemies come in all shapes, forms, sizes, colors
Could be your best friend, cousin, or brothers
I'll rob'em all, just to see who got the fatty stack
Walked in the bank, put the loot in the codauh sack
Slapped on the guard four times fo' he passed out
Eyes on that blow and my pockets was assed out
Had on a trench coat, wig and some goggles
If'n you resist, you may not see tomorrow
I'm in there, I den dared the police couldn't get me
But I made a slip up: had a trick wit me.
Chorus X2:
Don't turn around (Give me the fuckin' cheese trick)
Don't make a sound (Show me where them keys at)
Lay it on the ground (knowing that your pockets fat)
Fore' I buck you down (and I'm quicks' to do that)
Nigga starting braggin' in his hood bout the robbery
Wasn't long then, fore' somebody dropped the dime on me
I'm'a be the one they can't get to, they picked the boy up
Run his mouth just like a fool, he gon' get me fucked up
But, I'm'a have to get to him before the police do-a
Caught up with him night and day, not him and his crew-a
Sprang down Chelsie Ave. kinda in the evening
For this muhfuckas death, dawg I was fiend'n
He was looking at me strange, like I'm'a catcha
I done hopped out with the thang, lemme holla at'cha,
Foo, where you been dog? (My momma got sick, main!)
Fuck that got to do wit'chu? (Hold up I ain't your bitch, main!)
I heard you been talking your muh-fuckin' lips loose (Nah, it ain't like that dawg, I ain't no damn fool)
Looking in his eyes, I could see that he was so scared
I squeezed on the trigga with the gun to his fo'-head.
(Chorus x2)
Blew the top out his skull, now they want me dead
All the niggas in his hood, police and the feds
Stepped out of Westwood, way out of the side
On the other side of town, somewhere I can hide
I done threw my life away, hunted by them by pigs
Robbing every other day, drops in off my nig
They done found my whereabouts, bouts' to do me in
Kickin' in the front door, and I was in the den
SK was under the couch, snatch it off the wham
Open fire on them hoes, I didn't give a damn
Blood stream was full of dope, pump off coca leaf
Feds had me under a scope, and an infrared beam
Rifle bullet threw my throat, chokin', hit tha flo'
Gunpowder in my mouth, knockin' heavens door
Street life done took me out, and that shit ain't fake
I done fuck myself off, cause a bad mistake
A sucka' play for games, a man play for keeps
I keeps me a nine millimeter just in case
A coward's in my face
These bullets he gon taste
A waste of your life, steppin' wrong, I'm on trees
Best ta leave me alone, best ta go make some cheese
Enemies come in all shapes, forms, sizes, colors
Could be your best friend, cousin, or brothers
I'll rob'em all, just to see who got the fatty stack
Walked in the bank, put the loot in the codauh sack
Slapped on the guard four times fo' he passed out
Eyes on that blow and my pockets was assed out
Had on a trench coat, wig and some goggles
If'n you resist, you may not see tomorrow
I'm in there, I den dared the police couldn't get me
But I made a slip up: had a trick wit me.
Chorus X2:
Don't turn around (Give me the fuckin' cheese trick)
Don't make a sound (Show me where them keys at)
Lay it on the ground (knowing that your pockets fat)
Fore' I buck you down (and I'm quicks' to do that)
Nigga starting braggin' in his hood bout the robbery
Wasn't long then, fore' somebody dropped the dime on me
I'm'a be the one they can't get to, they picked the boy up
Run his mouth just like a fool, he gon' get me fucked up
But, I'm'a have to get to him before the police do-a
Caught up with him night and day, not him and his crew-a
Sprang down Chelsie Ave. kinda in the evening
For this muhfuckas death, dawg I was fiend'n
He was looking at me strange, like I'm'a catcha
I done hopped out with the thang, lemme holla at'cha,
Foo, where you been dog? (My momma got sick, main!)
Fuck that got to do wit'chu? (Hold up I ain't your bitch, main!)
I heard you been talking your muh-fuckin' lips loose (Nah, it ain't like that dawg, I ain't no damn fool)
Looking in his eyes, I could see that he was so scared
I squeezed on the trigga with the gun to his fo'-head.
(Chorus x2)
Blew the top out his skull, now they want me dead
All the niggas in his hood, police and the feds
Stepped out of Westwood, way out of the side
On the other side of town, somewhere I can hide
I done threw my life away, hunted by them by pigs
Robbing every other day, drops in off my nig
They done found my whereabouts, bouts' to do me in
Kickin' in the front door, and I was in the den
SK was under the couch, snatch it off the wham
Open fire on them hoes, I didn't give a damn
Blood stream was full of dope, pump off coca leaf
Feds had me under a scope, and an infrared beam
Rifle bullet threw my throat, chokin', hit tha flo'
Gunpowder in my mouth, knockin' heavens door
Street life done took me out, and that shit ain't fake
I done fuck myself off, cause a bad mistake
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Don't Turn Around Lyrics as written by Patrick Houston Jordan Houston
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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"
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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.