"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 try and feel the sunshine
You bring the rain
You try and hold me down
With your complaints
You cry and moan and complain
You whine and tear
Up to my neck in sorrow
The touch you bring
You just don't step inside to, to fourteen years
So hard to keep my own head, that's what I say, you know
I've been the beggar
I've played the thief
I was the dog, they all tried to beat
But it's been
Fourteen years of silence
It's been
Fourteen years of pain
It's been
Fourteen years that are gone forever
And I'll never have again, well
Your stupid girlfriends tell you
That I'm to blame
Well, they're all used-up has-beens
Out of the game
This time I'll have the last word
You hear what I say
I tried to see it your way
It won't work today
You don't just step inside to, to fourteen years
So hard to keep my own head, that's what I say
You know, I've been the dealer hangin' on your street
I was the dog, they all tried to beat
But it's been
Fourteen years of silence
It's been
Fourteen years of pain
It's been
Fourteen years that are gone forever
And I'll never have again, well
Yeah it's been, oh no!
Bullshit and contemplation
Gossip's their trade
If they knew half the real truth
What would they say?
Well I'm past the point of concern
It's time to play
These last four years of madness
Sure put me straight
You don't get back fourteen years
In just one day
So hard to keep my own head
Just go away
You know, just like a hooker she said
Nothin' is free
Oh I tried to see it your way
I tried to see it your way
You bring the rain
You try and hold me down
With your complaints
You cry and moan and complain
You whine and tear
Up to my neck in sorrow
The touch you bring
You just don't step inside to, to fourteen years
So hard to keep my own head, that's what I say, you know
I've been the beggar
I've played the thief
I was the dog, they all tried to beat
But it's been
Fourteen years of silence
It's been
Fourteen years of pain
It's been
Fourteen years that are gone forever
And I'll never have again, well
Your stupid girlfriends tell you
That I'm to blame
Well, they're all used-up has-beens
Out of the game
This time I'll have the last word
You hear what I say
I tried to see it your way
It won't work today
You don't just step inside to, to fourteen years
So hard to keep my own head, that's what I say
You know, I've been the dealer hangin' on your street
I was the dog, they all tried to beat
But it's been
Fourteen years of silence
It's been
Fourteen years of pain
It's been
Fourteen years that are gone forever
And I'll never have again, well
Yeah it's been, oh no!
Bullshit and contemplation
Gossip's their trade
If they knew half the real truth
What would they say?
Well I'm past the point of concern
It's time to play
These last four years of madness
Sure put me straight
You don't get back fourteen years
In just one day
So hard to keep my own head
Just go away
You know, just like a hooker she said
Nothin' is free
Oh I tried to see it your way
I tried to see it your way
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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"
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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."
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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 really believe that Izzy (who sang the song) wrote this about Axl Rose, which is funny and ironic. And very true...hahaha the band referred to in the song could easily be Guns N Roses now lol