"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.
Down on the West Coast they got a saying
"If you're not drinking then you're not playing"
But you've got the music, you've got the music in you, don't you?
Down on the West Coast I get this feeling like
It all could happen that's why I'm leaving you for the music
You for the music it's true, it's true
I push it hard, you pull away, I'm feeling hotter than fire
I'm feeling like there's no one else that brings me higher than higher
Te deseo, cariño, boy it's you I desire
Your love, your love, your love
I can see my baby swinging
His Parliament's on fire and his hands are up
On the balcony and I'm singing
Ooh baby, ooh baby, I'm in love
I can see my sweet boy swaying
He's crazy y Cubano como yo, la la
On the balcony and I'm sayin
Move baby, move baby, I'm in love
I'm in love, I'm in love (I'm in love, I'm in love)
Down on the West Coast, they got their icons
Their silver starlets, their queens of Saigons
But you've got the music, you've got the music in you
Don't you
You pull me close, I push away, I'm feeling hot to the touch
You say you miss me and I wanna say I miss you so much
But something keeps me really quiet, I'm alive, I'm a lush
Hold me close and you say, hush baby, hush
I can see my baby swinging
His Parliament's on fire and his hands are up
On the balcony and I'm singing
Ooh baby, ooh baby. I'm in love
I can see my sweet boy swaying
He's crazy y Cubano como yo, la la
On the balcony and I'm saying
Move baby, move baby, I'm in love
I can see my baby swinging
His Parliament's on fire and his hands are up
On the balcony and I'm singing
Ooh baby, ooh baby, I'm in love
I can see my sweet boy swaying
He's crazy y Cubano como yo, la la
On the balcony and I'm saying
Move baby, move baby, I'm in love
I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love
"If you're not drinking then you're not playing"
But you've got the music, you've got the music in you, don't you?
Down on the West Coast I get this feeling like
It all could happen that's why I'm leaving you for the music
You for the music it's true, it's true
I push it hard, you pull away, I'm feeling hotter than fire
I'm feeling like there's no one else that brings me higher than higher
Te deseo, cariño, boy it's you I desire
Your love, your love, your love
I can see my baby swinging
His Parliament's on fire and his hands are up
On the balcony and I'm singing
Ooh baby, ooh baby, I'm in love
I can see my sweet boy swaying
He's crazy y Cubano como yo, la la
On the balcony and I'm sayin
Move baby, move baby, I'm in love
I'm in love, I'm in love (I'm in love, I'm in love)
Down on the West Coast, they got their icons
Their silver starlets, their queens of Saigons
But you've got the music, you've got the music in you
Don't you
You pull me close, I push away, I'm feeling hot to the touch
You say you miss me and I wanna say I miss you so much
But something keeps me really quiet, I'm alive, I'm a lush
Hold me close and you say, hush baby, hush
I can see my baby swinging
His Parliament's on fire and his hands are up
On the balcony and I'm singing
Ooh baby, ooh baby. I'm in love
I can see my sweet boy swaying
He's crazy y Cubano como yo, la la
On the balcony and I'm saying
Move baby, move baby, I'm in love
I can see my baby swinging
His Parliament's on fire and his hands are up
On the balcony and I'm singing
Ooh baby, ooh baby, I'm in love
I can see my sweet boy swaying
He's crazy y Cubano como yo, la la
On the balcony and I'm saying
Move baby, move baby, I'm in love
I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love
Lyrics submitted by iholdher, edited by toadling17, whittneydoll, ichigurl, tulipsareblue, BiancaJanelle, JellyKane
West Coast Lyrics as written by Rick Nowels Elizabeth Grant
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
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.
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.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
It's about leaving a relationship for the music and her ignoring her own emotions. She loves him, but she can't let him know that or how much she misses him. She is rather introverted like he appears to me ("you've got the music in you"), so he keeps to himself. The boy tries very hard, but she just pulls away and can't express her real emotions for him, even though she wants to. She watches from afar, as shown in the chorus. She is madly in love with him, regardless of how flawed he is. No one has ever made her feel this way before. Lana has said also how the verse is fast-paced and then the tempo slows down in the chorus, supposedly representing how crazy her emotions are. In the verses she appears to be distant and in control, but in the choruses we see that that isn't the case, that even though she seems strong on the outside, she is weaker internally. One more point I want to make is that she has said the album is a fusion of rock and jazz, and this is also represented by the fusion of the West and East Coast. Geography, genre, emotions, themes, etc. are all concepts that are put together and compared/contrasted on this album.