"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'm ever so lost
I can't find my way
Been searching, but I have never seen
A turning, a turning from deceit
'Cause the child rose as life
Tried to reveal what I could feel
I can't understand myself anymore
'Cause I am still feeling lonely
Feeling so unholy
'Cause the child rose as life
Tried to reveal what I could feel
But this loneliness
It just won't leave me alone, oh no
I'm fooling somebody
A faithless path I roam
Deceiving to breathe this secretly
A silence, this silence I can't bear
'Cause the child rose as life
Tried to reveal what I could feel
And this loneliness
It just won't leave me alone, oh no
And this loneliness
Just won't leave me alone
A lady of woe
A lady of woe
I can't find my way
Been searching, but I have never seen
A turning, a turning from deceit
'Cause the child rose as life
Tried to reveal what I could feel
I can't understand myself anymore
'Cause I am still feeling lonely
Feeling so unholy
'Cause the child rose as life
Tried to reveal what I could feel
But this loneliness
It just won't leave me alone, oh no
I'm fooling somebody
A faithless path I roam
Deceiving to breathe this secretly
A silence, this silence I can't bear
'Cause the child rose as life
Tried to reveal what I could feel
And this loneliness
It just won't leave me alone, oh no
And this loneliness
Just won't leave me alone
A lady of woe
A lady of woe
Lyrics submitted by Ice, edited by kikofcabral
Numb Lyrics as written by Beth Gibbons Adrian Francis Utley
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Yup, it's about emotional isolation. About the perils of self discovery.
"And this loneliness It just won't leave me alone"
This is for sure one of the greatest verses ever written. I personally don´t see it only as a person who is single wanting somebody to love, I think it´s about someone who, even surrounded by crowds everyday, feels completely alone.
By the way, Beth Gibbons rules.
@neuromancer I agree, You can be surround by family or friends or even your wife and just feel like you are totally alone still. A faithless path I roam is a really good lyrics <br /> <br /> P.S.<br /> I wanna have Beth Gibbons as my singer
I think I agree with what skystar said, the song is about loneliness perhaps even in spite of having "somebody" if who you are with is not who you are meant to be with, or if you simply have not worked through personal problems which hold you back from emotional health.
"The child roses like, try to reveal what I could feel" is her speaking of the little girl inside her that hopes and longs for real love, trying to show her to get past her hurt and look for something real, where should could feel true love and happiness.
But she chooses to ignore it, in a way not wanting to believe in all those wonderful things, for fear of being hurt again,...thus she struggles and fights on through life,..thus becoming "a lady of war".
portishead lyrics are incredible this song sound like a vampire song alot of their music sounds quite gothic
i love portishead i have been a fan since 96 and still am i hope they comeout with new stuff! ok this song is very difficult to interpret but here it goes............... this is about the war that we face each day, mostly in our relationships with our significant others, i for example was with a man for many years that i did not love, i was fooling him and i was very lonely even though i was with him, i felt very alone and i just could not get rid of that feeling, i kept quite and just listen to alot of portishead and enjoyed spending his money. but that is over now and i have learned a very valuable lesson.
oooh portishead was my password to just about every porgram, chatroom, email address for SO long...
This album (which includes "Numb") is brilliant.
Wonderful !! Its a Sunday moment for sure.
Ahhhhh this song is sweet. I love how the drummer has the snares turned off. I think it's about a girlwho wants to be loved and can't find it.
Portishead is one of the most unique bands I have ever heard, and this song calms me down.
i love this song.
acid jazz is great.
You can guess where my nickname came from. I could never find out why it says "a lady of war" at the end, so I loved it.