"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 think I'll go home and mull this over
Before I cram it down my throat
At long last, it's crashed, its colossal mass
Has broken up into bits in my moat
Rip the mattress off the floor
Walk the cramps off
Go meander in the cold
Hail to your dark skin
Hiding the fact you're dead again
Underneath the power lines, seeking shade
Far above our heads are the icy heights that contain all reason
It's a luscious mix of words and tricks
That let us bet when you know we should fold
On rocks, I dreamt of where we'd stepped
And of a whole mess of roads we're now on
Hold your glass up, hold it in
Never betray the way you've always known it is
One day, I'll be wondering how
I got so old, just wondering how
Never got cold wearing nothing in the snow
This is way beyond my remote concern
Of being condescending
All these squawking birds won't quit
Building nothing, laying bricks
Hold your glass up, hold it in
Never betray the way you've always known it is
One day, I'll be wondering how
I got so old, just wondering how
Never got cold wearing nothing in the snow
This is way beyond my remote concern
Of being condescending
All these squawking birds won't quit
Building nothing, laying bricks
Before I cram it down my throat
At long last, it's crashed, its colossal mass
Has broken up into bits in my moat
Rip the mattress off the floor
Walk the cramps off
Go meander in the cold
Hail to your dark skin
Hiding the fact you're dead again
Underneath the power lines, seeking shade
Far above our heads are the icy heights that contain all reason
It's a luscious mix of words and tricks
That let us bet when you know we should fold
On rocks, I dreamt of where we'd stepped
And of a whole mess of roads we're now on
Hold your glass up, hold it in
Never betray the way you've always known it is
One day, I'll be wondering how
I got so old, just wondering how
Never got cold wearing nothing in the snow
This is way beyond my remote concern
Of being condescending
All these squawking birds won't quit
Building nothing, laying bricks
Hold your glass up, hold it in
Never betray the way you've always known it is
One day, I'll be wondering how
I got so old, just wondering how
Never got cold wearing nothing in the snow
This is way beyond my remote concern
Of being condescending
All these squawking birds won't quit
Building nothing, laying bricks
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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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."
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
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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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
I think it's about being unable to break from a secure world of being alone despite wanting it.
Wow, you summed it all up in a sentence, and I completely agree with you. I wish I were that concise.