"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.
You're obsessed and distressed ‘cause you can't make any sense
Of the ludicrous nonsense and incipient senescence
That will deem your common sense useless
This ain’t no recess
I want to believe in you, but my plan keeps falling through
I know I have to face the harshness, grin and bear the truth
And I have to walk this mile in my own shoes
(But I'm no fool!)
I'm materialist
A full-blown realist
I guess I'm full of doubt
So I'm prone to have it out
With you
I'm materialist
There ain't no fear in this
It's there for all to see, so don't talk of hidden mystery
With me
Mind over matter, it really don't matter
If the street's idle chatter turns your heart strings to tatters
Flatter hopes don't flatter and soul batter won't congeal to mend a life
That’s shattered into shards
Was it in the cards?
The process of belief is an elixir when you're weak
I must confess, at times I indulge it on the sneak
But generally my outlook's not so bleak
(And I'm not meek!)
I'm materialist
Call me a humanist
I guess I'm full of doubt,
So I'll gladly have it out
With you
I'm materialist
I ain't no deist
It's there for all to see, so don't talk of hidden mystery
With me
Like Rome under Nero, our future's one big zero
Recycling the past to meet the immediate needs
And through it all we amble forth to persevere and climb
Our mountains of regret to sow our seeds
I'm materialist
I'm materialist
I'm materialist
I'm materialist!
Of the ludicrous nonsense and incipient senescence
That will deem your common sense useless
This ain’t no recess
I want to believe in you, but my plan keeps falling through
I know I have to face the harshness, grin and bear the truth
And I have to walk this mile in my own shoes
(But I'm no fool!)
I'm materialist
A full-blown realist
I guess I'm full of doubt
So I'm prone to have it out
With you
I'm materialist
There ain't no fear in this
It's there for all to see, so don't talk of hidden mystery
With me
Mind over matter, it really don't matter
If the street's idle chatter turns your heart strings to tatters
Flatter hopes don't flatter and soul batter won't congeal to mend a life
That’s shattered into shards
Was it in the cards?
The process of belief is an elixir when you're weak
I must confess, at times I indulge it on the sneak
But generally my outlook's not so bleak
(And I'm not meek!)
I'm materialist
Call me a humanist
I guess I'm full of doubt,
So I'll gladly have it out
With you
I'm materialist
I ain't no deist
It's there for all to see, so don't talk of hidden mystery
With me
Like Rome under Nero, our future's one big zero
Recycling the past to meet the immediate needs
And through it all we amble forth to persevere and climb
Our mountains of regret to sow our seeds
I'm materialist
I'm materialist
I'm materialist
I'm materialist!
Lyrics submitted by nfgpunk023
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
I just love how he pronounces 'Materialist' as "Matter-Realist". Makes it alot easier to explain to someone he isn't talking about being a good consumer.
Materialist: No God, Pixie, Gnome, Ghost, or Spirit will get us out of this mess. Guess we'll have to realize that we have to fix our own problems.