"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.
All I see is, shattered pieces
I can't keep it, hidden like a secret
I can't look away
From all this pain, in the world we've made
Every day you need, a bulletproof vest
To save yourself, from what you could never guess
Am I safe today?
When I step outside, in the wars we wage
Our future's here and now
Here comes the countdown
Sound it off, this is our call
Rise and Revolution
It's our time to change it all
Rise and Revolution
Unite, and Fight
To make a better life
Everybody, one for all
Sound off, this is the call
Tonight, We Rise, Rise
Tonight, We Rise, Rise
Tonight, We Rise
Like a hand grenade, thrown in a hurricane
Spinning in chaos, trying to escape the flame
Yesterday is gone
Faster than the blast of a car bomb
And when the scars heal, the pain passes
As hope burns, we rise from the ashes
Darkness fades away
And the light shines on a brave new day
Our future's here and now
Here comes the countdown
Sound it off, this is our call
Rise and Revolution
It's our time to change it all
Rise and Revolution
Unite, and Fight
To make a better life
Everybody, one for all
Sound off, this is the call
Tonight, we Rise, Rise
Tonight, we Rise, Rise
Tonight, we Rise
In a world gone mad (in a voice so sad)
Sometimes it's crazy (crazy)
To fight for what you believe
But you can't give up (no)
If you want to keep what you love (keep what you love)
Keep what you love (keep what you love)
Keep what you love
Never give up, no
Rise. rise and revolution
Rise. rise and revolution
Everybody one for all
Sound off, this is the call
Rise, like we're alive
Tonight, we rise!
Rise! Make a better life
Tonight, we rise! Rise
Rise, rise and revolution
Rise, rise
Rise and revolution
Rise
(911)
(There's a guy here with a gun)
(Ma'am? Ma'am?)
(Kids, get under the table, get under the table)
(We are getting in reports, from all around the globe)
(showing the highest unemployment rates since the end of world war two)
(Many are losing their jobs, their homes, and in many cases their hope)
(You are such a failure)
(What's wrong with you?)
(You're worthless!)
(You can't do anything right!)
(I wish you had never been born)
I can't keep it, hidden like a secret
I can't look away
From all this pain, in the world we've made
Every day you need, a bulletproof vest
To save yourself, from what you could never guess
Am I safe today?
When I step outside, in the wars we wage
Our future's here and now
Here comes the countdown
Sound it off, this is our call
Rise and Revolution
It's our time to change it all
Rise and Revolution
Unite, and Fight
To make a better life
Everybody, one for all
Sound off, this is the call
Tonight, We Rise, Rise
Tonight, We Rise, Rise
Tonight, We Rise
Like a hand grenade, thrown in a hurricane
Spinning in chaos, trying to escape the flame
Yesterday is gone
Faster than the blast of a car bomb
And when the scars heal, the pain passes
As hope burns, we rise from the ashes
Darkness fades away
And the light shines on a brave new day
Our future's here and now
Here comes the countdown
Sound it off, this is our call
Rise and Revolution
It's our time to change it all
Rise and Revolution
Unite, and Fight
To make a better life
Everybody, one for all
Sound off, this is the call
Tonight, we Rise, Rise
Tonight, we Rise, Rise
Tonight, we Rise
In a world gone mad (in a voice so sad)
Sometimes it's crazy (crazy)
To fight for what you believe
But you can't give up (no)
If you want to keep what you love (keep what you love)
Keep what you love (keep what you love)
Keep what you love
Never give up, no
Rise. rise and revolution
Rise. rise and revolution
Everybody one for all
Sound off, this is the call
Rise, like we're alive
Tonight, we rise!
Rise! Make a better life
Tonight, we rise! Rise
Rise, rise and revolution
Rise, rise
Rise and revolution
Rise
(911)
(There's a guy here with a gun)
(Ma'am? Ma'am?)
(Kids, get under the table, get under the table)
(We are getting in reports, from all around the globe)
(showing the highest unemployment rates since the end of world war two)
(Many are losing their jobs, their homes, and in many cases their hope)
(You are such a failure)
(What's wrong with you?)
(You're worthless!)
(You can't do anything right!)
(I wish you had never been born)
Lyrics submitted by MusicFREAK20, edited by cynthiaro
Rise Lyrics as written by Scott Christopher Stevens John Cooper
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
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,
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
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.
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.
"All I see is shattered pieces. I can't keep it hidden like a secret. I can't look away from all this pain, in the world we've made." Suffering and abuse and neglect and all those bad things are happening all around the world, even in the places you live, everywhere you look you can see it, so nobody can hide it, or at least, not forever.
"Every day you need a bulletproof vest to save yourself from what you could never guess. Am I safe today, when I step outside in the wars we wage?" The bullet proof vest is figurative language, and symbolizes the mental shield people create to try to block out all the bad things in the world. Our wars is all these bad things that we created.
"Our future's here and now. Here comes the countdown." Right now will decide how things will turn out, so if we don't fix things now, everything will just get worse and worse. The countdown is to when this all either blows up in our faces or when everything is finally fixed.
"Sound it off, this is our call. Rise and Revolution. It's our time to change it all. Rise and Revolution." This part tells us that we need to fight all these bad things now before it's too late.
"Unite, and Fight to make a better life. Everybody, one for all. Sound off, this is the call." If we all work together, maybe we can end all this. Everybody can help, no matter how much.
"Like a hand grenade, thrown in a hurricane. Spinning in chaos, trying to escape the flame. Yesterday is gone. Faster than the blast of a car bomb." All these bad things are spiraling out of control rapidly, and soon it will be too late to do anything.
"And when the scars heal, the pain passes. As hope burns, we rise from the ashes. Darkness fades away. And the light shines on a brave new day." Things will eventually get better, and we must have hope.
"In a world gone mad (in a voice so sad). Sometimes it's crazy (crazy) to fight for what you believe. But you can't give up (no)." These things going on all around us is just maddening. Sometimes, it may seem insane to fight against these things, but the result may be a better life. We can't give up hope that things will be better.
"If you want to keep what you love (keep what you love). Keep what you love (keep what you love). Keep what you love. Never give up, no." If we want to survive this, we need to fight back and never give up hope.
"Rise, like we're alive. Tonight, we rise! Rise! Make a better life. Tonight, we rise! Rise." We need to fight back like we're alive, not just going through the motions. We need to make a better life for our future generations.
"Rise, rise and revolution. Rise, rise. Rise and revolution. Rise." We need to fight back before it's too late.