"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.
So trusting, stop feeling sorry for me,
Don't touch me, I'll never leave this place.
I'll only let you down, for fucking sake believe me
I know I'll find a way, to pull myself from the grave.
I'm feeling careless,
With your fragile little heart,
How could I bare this,
When it's tearing you apart?
I'm filth, I'm dirt, I'm yours,
And now I'm shaking,
This pain that fuels my will, is slowly fading,
Save me from myself, I'm going down, down, down!
So trusting, stop feeling sorry for me,
Don't touch me, I'll never leave this place.
I'll only let you down, for fucking sake believe me,
I know I'll find a way, to pull myself from the grave.
Where I've gone to, there's not a single light in sight,
The sounds will haunt you,
This hell's not what I had in mind!
It's crawling up my spine, and now I'm shaking,
My hate, my sympathy, is slowly fading
Save me from myself, I'm going down, down, down.
So trusting, stop feeling sorry for me,
Don't touch me, I'll never leave this place.
I'll only let you down, for fucking sake believe me,
I know I'll find a way, to pull myself from the grave,
(I'll pull myself from the grave!)
You'd better get out while you can,
This isn't going anywhere,
I've bitten through my fingernails,
I only warn you 'cause I care...
Save me from myself I'm going down, down, down!
So trusting, stop feeling sorry for me,
don't touch me, I'll never leave this place.
I'll only let you down, for fucking sake believe me,
I know I'll find a way, to pull myself from the grave!
Don't touch me, I'll never leave this place.
I'll only let you down, for fucking sake believe me
I know I'll find a way, to pull myself from the grave.
I'm feeling careless,
With your fragile little heart,
How could I bare this,
When it's tearing you apart?
I'm filth, I'm dirt, I'm yours,
And now I'm shaking,
This pain that fuels my will, is slowly fading,
Save me from myself, I'm going down, down, down!
So trusting, stop feeling sorry for me,
Don't touch me, I'll never leave this place.
I'll only let you down, for fucking sake believe me,
I know I'll find a way, to pull myself from the grave.
Where I've gone to, there's not a single light in sight,
The sounds will haunt you,
This hell's not what I had in mind!
It's crawling up my spine, and now I'm shaking,
My hate, my sympathy, is slowly fading
Save me from myself, I'm going down, down, down.
So trusting, stop feeling sorry for me,
Don't touch me, I'll never leave this place.
I'll only let you down, for fucking sake believe me,
I know I'll find a way, to pull myself from the grave,
(I'll pull myself from the grave!)
You'd better get out while you can,
This isn't going anywhere,
I've bitten through my fingernails,
I only warn you 'cause I care...
Save me from myself I'm going down, down, down!
So trusting, stop feeling sorry for me,
don't touch me, I'll never leave this place.
I'll only let you down, for fucking sake believe me,
I know I'll find a way, to pull myself from the grave!
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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,
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
The singer has some sort of mental disorder and feels like a burden. I can relate to this song very much.
So trusting, stop feeling sorry for me, Don't touch me, I'll never leave this place.
He doesn't want people to feel sorry for him, he feels that it's all his fault and believe people trust him too much even after what he has become.
I'll only let you down, for fucking sake believe me I know I'll find a way, to pull myself from the grave.
Like what I said above, he believes that no matter what he will only let those he loves down, but he will make it out of by himself instead of hurting them and having them help.
I'm feeling careless, With your fragile little heart, How could I bare this, When it's tearing you apart?
The lyrics sort of speak for themselves. He's feeling careless in how he's acting and he knows that because the people around him love him what he does/and or how he feels and how down he is hurts them because they hate seeing him that way. And it's almost too much for him to handle that it's hurting those he loves.
Where I've gone to, there's not a single light in sight, The sounds will haunt you, This hell's not what I had in mind!
It's crawling up my spine, and now I'm shaking, My hate, my sympathy, is slowly fading Save me from myself, I'm going down, down, down.
This is the bad side of him to me. The side that makes him care less about others because of all the hurt he's been through. Read the lyrics a few times and it makes sense.
I'm filth, I'm dirt, I'm yours, And now I'm shaking, This pain that fuels my will, is slowly fading, Save me from myself, I'm going down, down, down!
He's filth and he's wrong but he's still theirs and they love him and he loves them too. But everything he is has him shaking and all the pain he was going through that made him feel alive isn't working anymore. Although he doesn't want to burden them, he still feels like he wants their help and there's a side of him that continues to reach out. "Save me from myself."
You'd better get out while you can, This isn't going anywhere, I've bitten through my fingernails, I only warn you 'cause I care...
He's warning them and trying to keep them away because he cares about them and doesn't want them to get hurt from seeing him so low.