"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.
A presence in my winding road
That relieved my deep anguish
A sparkling shine lightning my life
A new reason to smile
I feel I'm not alone
To restart my way (and keep walking)
We could build a smoother path
You'd better go back
The child entered my realm
He doesn't deserve anymore
The fury of your enemies
Leave, your egotism
He'll stay here
You are lost in my dark maze
You are misplaced, go and find your nest
He'll stay here
Your struggle comes to an end x2
I will not leave him to his own
When I entered his small world
And perceived for once innocence
I rediscovered what hope was
So fragile in my hands
I feel I'm not alone
To restart my way (and keep walking)
We could build a smoother path
My time has come
Don't try to fight against fate
Your last change
You want the world
I'll give your mine, come...
Go away, leave the child
Your secret is not safe
He wants you. That's a trick
Leave the child. Go away alone
You aren't one of them
Your secret will be unleashed
Leave the child. Go alone
You know you aren't welcome here
Cannot choose a way
You left me with no key
I won't leave him here
Mine could be your realm
I will not leave him to his own
Maybe in the past I gave up my aims
That's why I won't lose this game now
I feel I'm not alone
To restart my way (and keep walking)
We could build a smoother path
Together we'll build a smoother path
Sit vis vobiscum x3
That relieved my deep anguish
A sparkling shine lightning my life
A new reason to smile
I feel I'm not alone
To restart my way (and keep walking)
We could build a smoother path
You'd better go back
The child entered my realm
He doesn't deserve anymore
The fury of your enemies
Leave, your egotism
He'll stay here
You are lost in my dark maze
You are misplaced, go and find your nest
He'll stay here
Your struggle comes to an end x2
I will not leave him to his own
When I entered his small world
And perceived for once innocence
I rediscovered what hope was
So fragile in my hands
I feel I'm not alone
To restart my way (and keep walking)
We could build a smoother path
My time has come
Don't try to fight against fate
Your last change
You want the world
I'll give your mine, come...
Go away, leave the child
Your secret is not safe
He wants you. That's a trick
Leave the child. Go away alone
You aren't one of them
Your secret will be unleashed
Leave the child. Go alone
You know you aren't welcome here
Cannot choose a way
You left me with no key
I won't leave him here
Mine could be your realm
I will not leave him to his own
Maybe in the past I gave up my aims
That's why I won't lose this game now
I feel I'm not alone
To restart my way (and keep walking)
We could build a smoother path
Together we'll build a smoother path
Sit vis vobiscum x3
Lyrics submitted by WithinWishEpica
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
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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.
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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
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.
"Sit vis vobiscum" means "May the force be with you" in Latin. So, I'm guessing this is about Star Wars or something similar?