"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.
Here's Room 546
It's enough to make you sick
Bridget's all wrapped up in foil
You wonder if she'd get uncoiled
Here they come now, see them run now
Here they come now, Chelsea girls
Here's Room 115
Filled with the S&M queens
Magic marker row
You wonder just how high they go
Here they come now, see them run now
Here they come now, Chelsea girls
Here's Pope dear Ondine
Rona's treated him so mean
She wants another scene
She wants to be a human being
Here they come now, see them run now
Here they come now, Chelsea girls
Pepper, she's having fun
She thinks she's some man's son
Her perfect loves don't last
Her future died in someone's past
Here they come now, see them run now
Here they come now, Chelsea girls
Dear Ingrid's found her lick
She's turned another trick
Her treats and times revolve
She's got problems to be solved
Here they come now, see them run now
Here they come now, Chelsea girls
Dropout, she's in a fix
Amphetamine has made her sick
White powder in the air
She's got no bones and can't be scared
Here they come now, see them run now
Here they come now, Chelsea girls
Here comes Johnny Bore
He collapsed on the floor
They shot him up with milk
And when he died, sold him for silk
Here they come now, see them run now
Here they come now, Chelsea girls
It's enough to make you sick
Bridget's all wrapped up in foil
You wonder if she'd get uncoiled
Here they come now, see them run now
Here they come now, Chelsea girls
Here's Room 115
Filled with the S&M queens
Magic marker row
You wonder just how high they go
Here they come now, see them run now
Here they come now, Chelsea girls
Here's Pope dear Ondine
Rona's treated him so mean
She wants another scene
She wants to be a human being
Here they come now, see them run now
Here they come now, Chelsea girls
Pepper, she's having fun
She thinks she's some man's son
Her perfect loves don't last
Her future died in someone's past
Here they come now, see them run now
Here they come now, Chelsea girls
Dear Ingrid's found her lick
She's turned another trick
Her treats and times revolve
She's got problems to be solved
Here they come now, see them run now
Here they come now, Chelsea girls
Dropout, she's in a fix
Amphetamine has made her sick
White powder in the air
She's got no bones and can't be scared
Here they come now, see them run now
Here they come now, Chelsea girls
Here comes Johnny Bore
He collapsed on the floor
They shot him up with milk
And when he died, sold him for silk
Here they come now, see them run now
Here they come now, Chelsea girls
Lyrics submitted by PLANES
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
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.
Oh, Andy Warhol. You stalk pop culutre like a ghoul.
It means that either Elliott Smith either changed some of the lyrics or someone can't understand Nico's accent--because there's some minor errors in this version that IMO change the impact of the song. I usually have a problem with people who can't understand plain English but I guess Nico doesn't exactly speak plain English does she? I wonder how many gothic vocalists adopt that same accent because of Nico rather than B-Grade vampire movies.
It means that the person who posted it doesn't realize it's a nico cover- not a song by Elliott Smith
nico & velvet underground cover. it's about a group of prostitutes and as wonderfully as Elliott covers it he left out a verse. it goes something like: "poor mary, she's so uptight she can't turn out the light rolled Susan into a ball and now she can't see her at all"
I love the nico version of this song and i love elliott smith... does anyone know how to get this song? i cannot seem to find a place to download it :( :(
Yeah Nico version is better. I love this song and would have probably never heard it, if Elliott never had covered it. Heres a link to the show for anyone looking for it archive.org/details/esmith1999-10-14.flac
Great cover and I'm so glad it was a soundboard recording we have.