"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.
There's a voice on the phone
Telling what had happened,
Some kind of confusion
More like a disaster.
And it wondered how you were left unaffected,
But you had no knowledge.
No, the chemicals covered you.
So a jury was formed
As more liquor was poured.
No need for conviction,
They're not thirsting for justice.
But I slept with the lies I keep inside my head.
I found out I was guilty.
I found out I was guilty.
But I won't be around for the sentencing,
Cause I'm leaving
On the next airplane.
And though I know that my actions are impossible to justify
They seem adequate to fill up my time.
But if I could talk to myself
Like I was someone else,
Well then maybe I could take your advice,
And I wouldn't act like such an asshole all the time.
There's a film on the wall,
Makes the people look small
Who are sitting beside it,
All consumed in the drama.
They must return to their lives once the hero has died.
They will drive to the office
Stopping somewhere for coffee,
Where the folk singers, poets and playwrights convene,
Dispensing their wisdom,
Oh dear amateur orators.
They will detail their pain
In some standard refrain.
They will recite their sadness
Like it's some kind of contest.
Well, if it is, I think I am winning it,
All beaming with confidence
As I make my final lap.
The gold medal gleams
So hang it around my neck
Cause I am deserving it:
The champion of idiots.
But a kid carries his walkman on that long bus ride to Omaha.
I know a girl who cries when she practices violin.
Cause each note sounds so pure, it just cuts into her,
And then the melody comes pouring out her eyes.
Now to me, everything else, it just sounds like a lie
Telling what had happened,
Some kind of confusion
More like a disaster.
And it wondered how you were left unaffected,
But you had no knowledge.
No, the chemicals covered you.
So a jury was formed
As more liquor was poured.
No need for conviction,
They're not thirsting for justice.
But I slept with the lies I keep inside my head.
I found out I was guilty.
I found out I was guilty.
But I won't be around for the sentencing,
Cause I'm leaving
On the next airplane.
And though I know that my actions are impossible to justify
They seem adequate to fill up my time.
But if I could talk to myself
Like I was someone else,
Well then maybe I could take your advice,
And I wouldn't act like such an asshole all the time.
There's a film on the wall,
Makes the people look small
Who are sitting beside it,
All consumed in the drama.
They must return to their lives once the hero has died.
They will drive to the office
Stopping somewhere for coffee,
Where the folk singers, poets and playwrights convene,
Dispensing their wisdom,
Oh dear amateur orators.
They will detail their pain
In some standard refrain.
They will recite their sadness
Like it's some kind of contest.
Well, if it is, I think I am winning it,
All beaming with confidence
As I make my final lap.
The gold medal gleams
So hang it around my neck
Cause I am deserving it:
The champion of idiots.
But a kid carries his walkman on that long bus ride to Omaha.
I know a girl who cries when she practices violin.
Cause each note sounds so pure, it just cuts into her,
And then the melody comes pouring out her eyes.
Now to me, everything else, it just sounds like a lie
Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery
Going for the Gold Lyrics as written by Oberst
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
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,
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
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.
I've loved this song for forever but I never knew what to write about it. It's like everything in the song is articulated so perfectly that nothing I say could possibly add to its greatness; it could only make it worse.
So I won't try to do that. I'll just write what I think it means.
The song is, essentially, part of the ongoing theme of the search for truth in bright eyes songs (False Advertising, No Lies Just Love, and yeah, this one too).
As an "independent" artist Conor probably feels that music should convey a certain feeling or say a certain thing, and should always have truth found within it. Music is just one of those things you shouldn't lie to, its too pure and will know instantly if you're being dishonest. Since Bright Eyes, rightly or not, has been accused of being an "emo" band, its understandable that Conor feels as though he's fabricating things or lying within (or to) his music. Basically, he's saying that music, when interwoven with people's different emotions and beliefs, can come off as lies, and so it is a "risky" thing to do.
I think it also goes back to the whole "can you put a price on music/art?" thing. Like Conor could be considered a lier or con artist (not actually saying that he is...) because he makes people pay for his music, when some would argue if he truly loved music, he would not need money as motivation to make it.
Anyway i feel like i've barely scratched at the surface of this song...there's just so much feeling in it...its impossible to listen to it and not feel something. Like everyone, I love the part at the end; "I know a girl who cries when she practices violin Because each note sounds so pure It just cuts into her And then the melody comes pouring out her eyes"
I wish I could be capable of feeling something so deeply.