"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'm a Christmas Unicorn, in a uniform made of gold
With a billy-goat beard, and a sorcerer's shield, and mistletoe on my nose
Oh, I'm a Christian holiday, I'm a symbol of original sin
I've a pagan tree, and a magical wreath, and bow-tie on my chin
Oh, I'm a pagan heresy, I'm a tragic-al Catholic shrine
I'm a little bit shy, with a lazy eye, and a penchant for sublime
Oh, I'm a mystical apostasy, I'm a horse with a fantasy twist
Though I play all night, with my magical kite, people say I don't exist
For I make no full apology for the category I reside
I'm a mythical mess, with a treasury chest, I'm a construct of your mind
Oh, I'm hysterically American, I've a credit card on my wrist
And I have no home, or a field to roam, I will curse you with my kiss
Oh, I'm a criminal pathology with a history of medical care
I'm a frantic shopper, and a brave pill popper, and they say my kind are rare
But I've seen others in the uniform of a unicorn just like me
We are legions wide, and we choose no sides, we are masters of mystique
For you're a Christmas Unicorn, I have seen you on the beat
You may dress in the human uniform, child
But I know you're just like me
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
I'm the Christmas Unicorn
You're the Christmas Unicorn too
I'm the Christmas Unicorn
(Find the Christmas Unicorn)
You're the Christmas Unicorn too
(It's all right, I love you)
Love, love will tear us apart, again
Love, love will tear us apart, my friend
With a billy-goat beard, and a sorcerer's shield, and mistletoe on my nose
Oh, I'm a Christian holiday, I'm a symbol of original sin
I've a pagan tree, and a magical wreath, and bow-tie on my chin
Oh, I'm a pagan heresy, I'm a tragic-al Catholic shrine
I'm a little bit shy, with a lazy eye, and a penchant for sublime
Oh, I'm a mystical apostasy, I'm a horse with a fantasy twist
Though I play all night, with my magical kite, people say I don't exist
For I make no full apology for the category I reside
I'm a mythical mess, with a treasury chest, I'm a construct of your mind
Oh, I'm hysterically American, I've a credit card on my wrist
And I have no home, or a field to roam, I will curse you with my kiss
Oh, I'm a criminal pathology with a history of medical care
I'm a frantic shopper, and a brave pill popper, and they say my kind are rare
But I've seen others in the uniform of a unicorn just like me
We are legions wide, and we choose no sides, we are masters of mystique
For you're a Christmas Unicorn, I have seen you on the beat
You may dress in the human uniform, child
But I know you're just like me
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
I'm the Christmas Unicorn
You're the Christmas Unicorn too
I'm the Christmas Unicorn
(Find the Christmas Unicorn)
You're the Christmas Unicorn too
(It's all right, I love you)
Love, love will tear us apart, again
Love, love will tear us apart, my friend
Lyrics submitted by ThatsCaleb, edited by peelmanan
Christmas Unicorn Lyrics as written by Peter Hook Ian Kevin Curtis
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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Yo La Tengo
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
When We Were Young
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
i think the last part--"Love will tear us apart" is a reference to the song of the same name by Joy Division, a british post-punk band from the early 80s.
also, i freaking love this song. can't wait for the new album! <br /> <br /> anyway, i think the song is a reflection of sufjan's dim view of christmas as a fantastical ideal with a commercial sheen. its positive, but i feel its a bit sarcastic. this song has really good lyrics, like outstanding even by sufjan's standards. i think the whole song is brilliant, really.
Yes, I think you are quite right. That's what I firs thought of.