"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.
All the way home we felt we had a chance
To review the coulds before we were born
And to invite a new game of can'ts
Absorbed in the clouds a voice from afar said
"With the right device you can make a pattern grow
Or you can tune up your car"
So we stayed on the train admiring the time
As the lights of the city drew near
We drank a little wine
They were blurry and green outer space in between
With a depth and a form unclear
Then we saw it up ahead
A flickering lantern lit up on the tracks
In the rugs that had covered up the bridge
From the banks of a river to the bed
Of the valley upstream to the place we live
The glass on the lantern cast back the sight
Of a drive-in movie we drove by below
We saw where we'd been in the pictures within
Projecting all the places we would go
So we follow the scene and flowed up your steps
To a smooth wooden floor in a trance
The train whistle melody woved through the trees
And in through the door to signal the turns of a dance
To review the coulds before we were born
And to invite a new game of can'ts
Absorbed in the clouds a voice from afar said
"With the right device you can make a pattern grow
Or you can tune up your car"
So we stayed on the train admiring the time
As the lights of the city drew near
We drank a little wine
They were blurry and green outer space in between
With a depth and a form unclear
Then we saw it up ahead
A flickering lantern lit up on the tracks
In the rugs that had covered up the bridge
From the banks of a river to the bed
Of the valley upstream to the place we live
The glass on the lantern cast back the sight
Of a drive-in movie we drove by below
We saw where we'd been in the pictures within
Projecting all the places we would go
So we follow the scene and flowed up your steps
To a smooth wooden floor in a trance
The train whistle melody woved through the trees
And in through the door to signal the turns of a dance
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
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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Head > Heels
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“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
I don't know what this song means either, but if you just listen to it.. it's beautiful.. so beautiful