"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.
Look out, Mama, there's a white boat coming down the river
With a big red beacon and a flag and a man on the rail
I think you'd better call John
'Cause it don't look like they're here to deliver the mail
And it's less than a mile away, I hope they didn't come to stay
It's got numbers on the side and a gun and it's making big waves
Daddy's gone, my brother's out hunting in the mountains
Big John's been drinking since the river took Emmy Lou
So the powers that be left me here to do all the thinking
And I just turned twenty two, I was wondering what to do
And the closer they get the more those feelings grew
Daddy's rifle in my arms felt reassuring
He told me, "Red means run, son, numbers add up to nothing"
But when that first shot hit the dock, I saw it coming
Raised the rifle to my eye, never stopped to wonder why
Then I saw black and my face flashed in the sky
Shelter me from the powder and the finger
Cover me in the thought that pulled the trigger
Just think of me as one you never figured
To fade away so young, with so much left undone
Remember me, to my love, I know I'll miss her
With a big red beacon and a flag and a man on the rail
I think you'd better call John
'Cause it don't look like they're here to deliver the mail
And it's less than a mile away, I hope they didn't come to stay
It's got numbers on the side and a gun and it's making big waves
Daddy's gone, my brother's out hunting in the mountains
Big John's been drinking since the river took Emmy Lou
So the powers that be left me here to do all the thinking
And I just turned twenty two, I was wondering what to do
And the closer they get the more those feelings grew
Daddy's rifle in my arms felt reassuring
He told me, "Red means run, son, numbers add up to nothing"
But when that first shot hit the dock, I saw it coming
Raised the rifle to my eye, never stopped to wonder why
Then I saw black and my face flashed in the sky
Shelter me from the powder and the finger
Cover me in the thought that pulled the trigger
Just think of me as one you never figured
To fade away so young, with so much left undone
Remember me, to my love, I know I'll miss her
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Fast Car
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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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.
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The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
I am intrigued by Larry's theory (and I love this song): by leefroy on 08-17-2005 @ 04:08:48 AM
I have always thought that this song was about the Metis Rebellion which took place in westen Canada in the last quarter of the 19th Century. Neil Young is Canadian, of course, and has always had strong ties to the native peoples. The wars between the soldiers of the United States and the Native American tribes are well known by most Americans. However, the situation in Canada was even more complicated. When the French colonized eastern Canada in the 1600s, they sent many soldiers and trappers, and very few women. For this reason, many of the early settlers took native wives. A separate culture emerged known as the Metis. These people knew the ways of both the French and the native people. When the English conquered the French in the French and Indian War, they placed oppressive controls over the French, even deporting thousands of Acadian French to Louisiana to make room for English settlerrs. Young French settlers escaped the cities and found themselves in the wilderness known as Madawaska, where they were accepted and assimillated by their Metis half-brothers. Many of the Metis lived a nomadic life, traveling hundreds of miles to the area north and west of Lake Superior, where they could live in peace away from the influence of the English. However, conflict eventually followed, as the railroads opened the west and immigrants flooded into the rich grasslands occupied by the Metis. The Canadian government sent troops to seize control of the region. Canadian soldiers and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Metis "troops" were killed in the battles. Eventually the "rebellion" was ended, and at least on Metis leader, Louis Riel was executed for his part in the rebellion. It was a sad time in Canadian history. In what is known as the Battle of Batoche, the Canadian soldiers converted a steamboat into a gunboat and sailed up the South Saskatchawan River, where a gun battle ensued between the settlere and the troops. I believe this song is a fictional account of the death of one of the Metis settlers during the Battle of Batoche
This song ROCKS!!!
Umm I did ... did you not read the posts? Surely you have proved you have posted in haste...
Neil Young did in fact write this song, that fact is wrote about in the first post... I brought Larry's theory of this song over from Niel Young's page.
"To be blind is bad but to have eyes & not see is worst".
Sly
Neil Young made it. Please give credit where credit is due. Thanks