"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.
He's the deflated balloon wrapped around your gait
Cut priced to clear a past to "Sell by date"
He'll be the fool running through the churchyard screaming out "It's not too late"
And When he does, I know that you'll wait
He's the drunk man with bad breath coming home on too strong
But he's the beauty queen that strings your heart along
And he'll answer every question in your new-age magazine wrong
But I know you love him strong
So I'm leaving for there's nothing to believe in
I'm just grieving for a love I never knew
Please don't go misreading me
I'm not saying you've been misleading me
Just not needing me the way that I need you
Well he's the elephant in the room that never speaks
But you dream about him every two weeks
And I wouldn't know his name, but you call it in your sleep
Oh I know you love him deep
So run back to him like you should
I guess I always knew that you would
For he's captured your heart in a way I never could
So go on and love him good
Oh I'm leaving for there's nothing to believe in
I'm just grieving for a love I never knew
You're the book I can't stop reading
I'm the stray cat you've been feeding
But the tides they are receding now it's true
Please don't go misreading me
I'm not saying you've been misleading me
Just not needing me the way that I need you
Just not needing me the way that I need you
Cut priced to clear a past to "Sell by date"
He'll be the fool running through the churchyard screaming out "It's not too late"
And When he does, I know that you'll wait
He's the drunk man with bad breath coming home on too strong
But he's the beauty queen that strings your heart along
And he'll answer every question in your new-age magazine wrong
But I know you love him strong
So I'm leaving for there's nothing to believe in
I'm just grieving for a love I never knew
Please don't go misreading me
I'm not saying you've been misleading me
Just not needing me the way that I need you
Well he's the elephant in the room that never speaks
But you dream about him every two weeks
And I wouldn't know his name, but you call it in your sleep
Oh I know you love him deep
So run back to him like you should
I guess I always knew that you would
For he's captured your heart in a way I never could
So go on and love him good
Oh I'm leaving for there's nothing to believe in
I'm just grieving for a love I never knew
You're the book I can't stop reading
I'm the stray cat you've been feeding
But the tides they are receding now it's true
Please don't go misreading me
I'm not saying you've been misleading me
Just not needing me the way that I need you
Just not needing me the way that I need you
Lyrics submitted by BusbyBerkeleyDreams
The Way That I Need You Lyrics as written by Michael David Rosenberg
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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"
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/
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.
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.
He’s speaking about a woman that is still in love with someone else. He’s not blaming her, he understands.