"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.
Can we say that we are free?
Our hands are bound and voices silent
I'm sure it's not a dream
I am awake my eyes are open
I can't accept and won't concede
In aftermath we find redemption
The causes that are seized
And disguised as revolution
Quell the rage that deeply seethes
The extremes of these devotions
Dismantle the machine
The device of their creation
I can't accept and won't concede
That this is who we are
The conflict that is seized
And disguised as greater notions
To the songs that sing of glory and the brave
Are we dreaming there are better days to come?
When will the banners and the victory parades
Celebrate the day a better world was won?
On the day
The storm has just begun
I will still hope
There are better days to come
In the face of what I say
My words return to anger
Malevolence in need
Cannot provide direction
I won't accept this thought
That this is who we are
Positions never change
Losing all forward motion
Harbour that which deeply seethes
Temper your devotion
Dismantle the machine
The device of your convictions
I can't accept and won't concede
That this is who we are
The conflict that is seized
And disguised as greater notions
To the songs that sing of glory and the brave
Are we dreaming there are better days to come?
When will the banners and the victory parades
Celebrate the day a better world was won?
To the songs that sing of the glory and the brave
Are we dreaming there are better days to come?
When will the banners and the victory parades
Celebrate the day a better world was won?
On the day the storm has just begun
I will still hope there are better days to come
On the day the storm has just begun
I will still hope there are better days to come
Our hands are bound and voices silent
I'm sure it's not a dream
I am awake my eyes are open
I can't accept and won't concede
In aftermath we find redemption
The causes that are seized
And disguised as revolution
Quell the rage that deeply seethes
The extremes of these devotions
Dismantle the machine
The device of their creation
I can't accept and won't concede
That this is who we are
The conflict that is seized
And disguised as greater notions
To the songs that sing of glory and the brave
Are we dreaming there are better days to come?
When will the banners and the victory parades
Celebrate the day a better world was won?
On the day
The storm has just begun
I will still hope
There are better days to come
In the face of what I say
My words return to anger
Malevolence in need
Cannot provide direction
I won't accept this thought
That this is who we are
Positions never change
Losing all forward motion
Harbour that which deeply seethes
Temper your devotion
Dismantle the machine
The device of your convictions
I can't accept and won't concede
That this is who we are
The conflict that is seized
And disguised as greater notions
To the songs that sing of glory and the brave
Are we dreaming there are better days to come?
When will the banners and the victory parades
Celebrate the day a better world was won?
To the songs that sing of the glory and the brave
Are we dreaming there are better days to come?
When will the banners and the victory parades
Celebrate the day a better world was won?
On the day the storm has just begun
I will still hope there are better days to come
On the day the storm has just begun
I will still hope there are better days to come
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by Mellow_Harsher
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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"
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
It's a beautiful song.
Ronan tends to parallel internal conflict and external struggle. So it's definitely asking Are We In The Best We Can Be In...but is it a question for Society or for Self?
@OneChaos both<br />
The best song from Vnv (or any other band aswell) since "Arena" 2005.
Ronan has always been a master of describing humanity in it´s finest & worst moments, and so he does here.
This song is, as I see it, like so many other songs from Ronan, question wether we are capabel of using all our knowledge and machines to make this world a better place - or just continue as we do - and doom ourselwes.
"To the songs that sing of glory and the brave, are we dreaming there are better days to come?" Seems to me, like a legid question. Cause are our wars really fought to enproven life-quality for humans, or just to benefit some chosen elite? " And here he asks the same question:"When will the banners and the victory parade, celebrate the day a better world is won?"
The chorus lyrics together with the melodie is pure poetry, and one of the best chorus I´we ever heard.
The song truly defines what VNV Nation is/was all about.
Its about the endless struggle. Ever win "or victory parade" is merely a lead up to the next struggle. As the guy below me said, this is true internally as well as externally (literal victory parades for example).
"On the day the storm has just begun I will still hope there are better days to come" Even as he recognizes this incongruity, a human being must believe that the struggle could end, and it is that hope that drives us.
But worse, do most of us hope for better days? or do their songs about bravery and glory are just meant to glorify the struggle? Does perseverance in the face of opposition, natural or human, lead to acceptance and glorification of violence or to the hope that we will eventually become better than that?
Stick your head between his young crotch tonight and continue to hide your FULL personality as you screw his naive, easily-manipulative brains out and I'm sure you'll feel better. WoW. Sounds like love. Is this #300 in a decade or is that number higher. Yes, definitely true love.
To me, its about how when a side wins a big war, we throw banners, parades. We celebrate that we won a tragic war. But war only benefits the other end most of the time. So we completely shun out the side that lost. Hence the "When will the banners and the victory parades celebrate the day a better world is won?" Since Ronan lives in a area that was destroyed by war, that definitely correlates to the albums purpose. Just how France, Britain ignored and forced Germany to pay reparations after WW1. Definitely one of my favorite VNV track in recent times!