"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.
Starched white shirts, so neatly pressed by domestic muses
Feed delusions that everything is working out right
But your ribs can't withstand increasing weight
As your heart gets heavier and sooner or later
It falls to the tips of your toes
And every day tastes like inhaling
When you just lit the wrong end (that plastic burning scent)
Your only friends are on the exit ramps of gridlock caravans
You try to ask how they've been
But the metal and glass is too thick
Feed delusions that everything is working out right
But your ribs can't withstand increasing weight
As your heart gets heavier and sooner or later
It falls to the tips of your toes
And every day tastes like inhaling
When you just lit the wrong end (that plastic burning scent)
Your only friends are on the exit ramps of gridlock caravans
You try to ask how they've been
But the metal and glass is too thick
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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/
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.
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.
This song is about a relationship that's falling apart. And it's beautiful.
I wonder why they left this off of The Photo Album?
I hadn't thought of a relationship falling apart. The line "You try to ask how they've been, but the metal and glass is too thick." Made me think the song is about visiting someone in jail. This is definitely an awesome song.
my song, mother fuckers
does anyone else think there is a connection between this song and "this place is a prison" by postal service? I do. this was never really released fully to the public so Ben finished his thought (this song) and made it into a song for the public aka TPIAP.
I think this song is about feeling different from other people - whether it be through experiencing love when others haven't, having an epiphany about life, or whatever. But you press your shirts and feel all clean and enlightened, and you think everything's going to work from here on out but it only gets worse since you become distant and can't find anyone to relate to.
This song is probably about love, since he talks about his heart being too heavy for his chest to hold as if he's just been overwhelmed with emotions and that's what makes him feel distant, like no one else knows what he's known or how he's felt.
I wish I knew what he was talking about lighting, something with plastic at one end. But the last few lines are about the distance he feels; the "friends" he has, who are supposed to understand him, are on the exit ramps to gridlock caravans; they're all getting off but there's no stopping the train he's on and the farther away they go the more muffled their voices become. Until finally you can't even talk to them anymore because the metal of the caravan and the thick glass of the windows drowns out the sound.
Whatever this song is about though, there's that hint of genius. One of Death Cab's best, for sure.
That plastic burning scent line is talking about lighting the wrong end of a cigarette.
That plastic burning scent line is talking about lighting the wrong end of a cigarette.
This song feels like a rehab sort of emotion. It seems uphill, as per the lighting the cigarette backwards, delusions of things working out right etc. The friends part reminds me that the speaker has changed and can't get back to old friends because of the barrier caused by the rehab.
I don't really see why mentioning the word "heart" has to indicate love.
I meant to add this: it's a neat way of saying "you have a sinking feeling in your heart" -- not really that you're heart is packed full of feelings so its heavy.
"starched white shirts so neatly pressed by domestic muses feed delusions that everything is working out right." This song reminds me of an exstremly domestic household. Almost like the life of a soccer mom, and her having problems with her husband or family, but she just keeps trying to be a "super-mom". "your only friends are on the exit ramps of gridlock caravans. you try to ask how they've been. but the metal and glass is too thick. " This gives me the image of a mothers "friends" the women who all drive (caravans, minivans) their kids to like baseball practice and the fake niceness they give off. Like those people arent her real freinds they dont care, they dont want to hear.