"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.
I wait at the table,
And hold hands with weeping strangers
Wait for you to join the group
The tambourine jingle-jangles
The medium roams and rambles
Not taken in, I break the circle
I want this man
To go away now
With a kiss
I'd pass the key
And feel your tongue
Teasing and receiving.
With your spit
Still on my lip
You hit the water
Him and I in the room
To prove you are with us too
He's using code that only you and I know
This is no trick of his
This is your magic
I'd catch the cues
Watching you
Hoping you'd do something wrong
Everybody thinks you'll never make it
But every time you escape
'Rosabel believe,
Not even eternity
Can hold Houdini!'
"Rosabel, believe!"
Through the glass
I'd watch you breathe
("Not even eternity")
Bound and drowned
And paler than you've ever been
("will hold Houdini!")
With your life
The only thing in my mind
We pull you from the water
(Houdini!)
You ("Hou-di-ni")
And I and Rosabel believe
And hold hands with weeping strangers
Wait for you to join the group
The tambourine jingle-jangles
The medium roams and rambles
Not taken in, I break the circle
I want this man
To go away now
With a kiss
I'd pass the key
And feel your tongue
Teasing and receiving.
With your spit
Still on my lip
You hit the water
Him and I in the room
To prove you are with us too
He's using code that only you and I know
This is no trick of his
This is your magic
I'd catch the cues
Watching you
Hoping you'd do something wrong
Everybody thinks you'll never make it
But every time you escape
'Rosabel believe,
Not even eternity
Can hold Houdini!'
"Rosabel, believe!"
Through the glass
I'd watch you breathe
("Not even eternity")
Bound and drowned
And paler than you've ever been
("will hold Houdini!")
With your life
The only thing in my mind
We pull you from the water
(Houdini!)
You ("Hou-di-ni")
And I and Rosabel believe
Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery
Houdini Lyrics as written by Kate Bush
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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The song is about Houdini's wife talking to a medium after Houdini's death.
"I wait at the table, And hold hands with weeping strangers Wait for you to join the group The tambourine jingle-jangles The medium roams and rambles Not taken in, I break the circle I want this man To go away now"
This part is about the seance. People are sitting in a circle and the medium is claiming to be in contact with Houdini's spirit. His wife is not buying it ("not taken in") so she "breaks the circle" thus breaking the connection. I always interpreted this part as Houdini's wife being in denial and/or being afraid of the medium. I don't think the medium is a fake, I think his wife doesn't want to believe the medium because it's too creepy/painful for her to deal with.
"With a kiss I'd pass the key And feel your tongue Teasing and receiving. With your spit Still on my lip You hit the water"
This is Houdini's wife thinking back to the day he died. She kissed him and passed the key (that would allow him to unlock his chains) moments before he entered the water.
"Him and I in the room To prove you are with us too He's using code that only you and I know This is no trick of his This is your magic"
She's alone with the medium because she doesn't trust the strangers and wants the medium to prove to her that Houdini's spirit is really present. He uses their code "Rosabel, believe" and she realizes that Houdini really is there. "This is no trick of his" - the medium. "This is your magic" - Houdini.
"I'd catch the cues Watching you Hoping you'd do something wrong"
She's saying "You" because she now believes that the medium is indeed possessed by Houdini's spirit but she still hopes he'll "do something wrong" and be revealed as a fake.
"Everybody thinks you'll never make it But every time you escape 'Rosabel believe, Not even eternity Can hold Houdini!'
She now referring to his escape acts. People always thought every stunt would be his last but he escaped every time and even now, he has escaped the afterlife (if only temporarily).
"Through the glass I'd watch you breathe Bound and drowned And paler than you've ever been With your life The only thing in my mind We pull you from the water"
This is another flashback to the day he died. She's remembering watching him fail to escape. All she could think of was whether or not he was dead, if he could be resuscitated, etc.
I may be incorrect about the interpretation that she is afraid/creeped out by his spirit, not wanting to believe the medium, etc. I just know that I would be skeptical and afraid if I was doing something like that myself.
This is such a beautiful song, I love everything about it. The lyrics, the music, her voice, the drama. It's one of my all time favourites. Kate Bush is a genius. Up there with Bowie for me!