"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'd like to try throwing the I Ching
I'd like to try someone analyzing my writing
I'd like to see what's written on the crystal stones
And see what happens if I put on my turban
And start throwing bones, hey
Maybe I'll be a gopher
And getting bagels for the U.N.
Maybe I'll cruise bars
In futile search of perfect 10's
And maybe I'll be the legendary
Scandal-ridden pol
Keeping up my solid citizen front
When I'm really just bought and sold
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Palm readings and crystal balls
It's obvious for all to see
How uncertain it will be
And handwriting and dice rolls
I Ching and crystal stones
And tea leaves and astrology
Get someone to interpret your dreams
Still I don't know where we'll be
Will you take this ride with me?
Maybe I'll be a doctor
Ophthalmologist, checking out eyes
Maybe I'll get a job
Making little skinny curly fries
I might feel important
As a security guard
And I'd love to lean on you
When times get too hard, hey
Maybe I'll be the overweight
Ex-jock chasing skirts
Telling my old stories, you know
The older you get the better you were
You could be my right hand
Tell me when I'm a joke
And maybe there'll be some times
When we feel like we're not just blowing smoke
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Palm readings and crystal balls
It's obvious for all to see
How uncertain it will be
Handwriting and dice rolls
I Ching and crystal stones
And tea leaves and astrology
Get someone to interpret your dreams
Still I don't know where we'll be
Will you take this ride with me, with me?
Maybe I'll invent the nuclear
Magnetic resonance stomp
Or create a synthetic hue for you
Or maybe chemical breakthroughs
Take a map of genome
And give directions to a friend
And develop a crumb-crisp coating
For a new cake and ice cream blend, hey
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Palm readings and crystal balls
It's obvious for all to see
How uncertain it will be
Fortune tellers and mirrored walls
Tarot cards and ouija boards
And tea leaves and astrology
Why don't you come and lay with me?
Still I wonder where we'll be
Will you take this ride
Will you take this ride with me, with me?
I'd like to try someone analyzing my writing
I'd like to see what's written on the crystal stones
And see what happens if I put on my turban
And start throwing bones, hey
Maybe I'll be a gopher
And getting bagels for the U.N.
Maybe I'll cruise bars
In futile search of perfect 10's
And maybe I'll be the legendary
Scandal-ridden pol
Keeping up my solid citizen front
When I'm really just bought and sold
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Palm readings and crystal balls
It's obvious for all to see
How uncertain it will be
And handwriting and dice rolls
I Ching and crystal stones
And tea leaves and astrology
Get someone to interpret your dreams
Still I don't know where we'll be
Will you take this ride with me?
Maybe I'll be a doctor
Ophthalmologist, checking out eyes
Maybe I'll get a job
Making little skinny curly fries
I might feel important
As a security guard
And I'd love to lean on you
When times get too hard, hey
Maybe I'll be the overweight
Ex-jock chasing skirts
Telling my old stories, you know
The older you get the better you were
You could be my right hand
Tell me when I'm a joke
And maybe there'll be some times
When we feel like we're not just blowing smoke
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Palm readings and crystal balls
It's obvious for all to see
How uncertain it will be
Handwriting and dice rolls
I Ching and crystal stones
And tea leaves and astrology
Get someone to interpret your dreams
Still I don't know where we'll be
Will you take this ride with me, with me?
Maybe I'll invent the nuclear
Magnetic resonance stomp
Or create a synthetic hue for you
Or maybe chemical breakthroughs
Take a map of genome
And give directions to a friend
And develop a crumb-crisp coating
For a new cake and ice cream blend, hey
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Palm readings and crystal balls
It's obvious for all to see
How uncertain it will be
Fortune tellers and mirrored walls
Tarot cards and ouija boards
And tea leaves and astrology
Why don't you come and lay with me?
Still I wonder where we'll be
Will you take this ride
Will you take this ride with me, with me?
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Mirror on the Wall Lyrics as written by Bruce Randall Hornsby
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
I Can't Go To Sleep
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
No Surprises
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Plastic Bag
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“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.