| Imogen Heap – Speeding Cars Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I had a gander at all the different perspectives on this song, and although a lot made sense and some sat very well in my mind, things didn’t add up and the key theme within the song is that of life and the truths and certainties within our day to day as time goes on. Regardless of a deeper meaning which I am sure there is one, I think a few people are overlooking the true genius of this song and its application our own lives and the truths and certainties we all encounter and essentially ‘live’. My post will be to find some underpinning themes in the song, but I am not trying to find the correct meaning, but instead I am trying to find meanings that we can all relate to and perhaps in the end, this might really be what the song is about. Bolded text is the lyrics while the normal text is my interpretation. Other posters might find similarities but I hope they will understand that a lot of the ideas in this are common to any number of people and to some degree I wouldn’t like to generate a reference list for a comment page. Having said that, should an idea in this writing happen to resonate strongly to your own, I will be more than happy to mention you if I haven’t already done so. Here's the day you hoped would never come There is a realisation here that there is always the possibility that the worst possible scenario can eventuate and in this case it has. Don’t feed me violence, just run with me Through rows of speeding cars This line is perhaps the most significant in the entire song, not solely because it is the song title. Within this line are many avenues for interpretation which underlines the ability of the song to apply to many aspects of peoples every day lives. Having said that, it is important to perceive the line in the way that it is representative of life being a highway in which people are constantly moving through as Flyingw said earlier. This highway does not sleep, it is forever and it does not wait. In this sense people are forced to dodge between traffic (ie: life’s obstacles) to simply get through. The sheer blinding presence of these obstacles will force people to face them head on, herein it is implied that it is not possible to go through life without being ‘hit’. For Imogen to say they must run through reinforces the idea that together they can make it through even if they encounter problems, but should people go through this highway of life alone, they are doomed to fall. The paper cuts, the cheating lovers This is a very powerful statement about the extents to which obstacles in life can affect people. These are only two extremes on the scale, though perhaps they are the two most relevant to the songs deeper meaning about wounds and the pain involved with love. The coffee’s never strong enough Rineay perhaps had the closest understanding of this point in saying that people are constantly striving for that little bit more and not getting what we expect. To me, I think it is reflective of a situation in which a person expects something, but it is often the case that they fall short and get less than what they expected regardless of how much they strived for an outcome. I know you think it’s more than just bad luck Here the song highlights the fact that the person in focus believes that there is a higher power that prevents them succeeding in life and getting what they expect. This idea resonates to a lot of peoples lives I am sure. The focal point here is that as life goes it is learnt that not getting what you expect in life and falling short constantly is a certainty within most people’s lives. There, there, baby I like this line because it is truly amazing that this line can incorporate and extend itself to numerous possibilities that relate to peoples own lives. Thinking of this one lines in terms of a deeper meaning it can be representative of themes pertaining to lovers, a mothers fears of a child in trouble, a friend looking to a mate’s predicament, you name it. It’s just text book stuff This line strongly reinforces the idea that the obstacles people face in life are known and confronted by all people as they progress in life. This idea of a text book stresses the idea that these ‘strings of bad luck’ are documented as truths and certainties. It’s in the ABC of growing up The problems faced are essentially experienced by all people as they grow up. These are in a broad sense, learned over time. Now, now, darlin’ Oh don’t lose your head 'Cause none of us were angels Don’t lose your head is a statement expressing the worry of the onlooker, be that the mother, friend or lover in whichever scenario think is appropriate. Here it is implied that the person who stands in front of an overwhelming problem is likely to lose their mind and react in a way that is perceived as irrational. This is perhaps alluding to the idea of suicide as the only way out, rather than being run down by life’s obstacles in the overarching highway of life. Alternatively it alludes to the idea that thinking about it too much will solve nothing and in the end no one is perfect. We cannot be angels in life, maybe death is more suited to the notion of becoming an angel. Cheesy I know but it makes some sense. And you know I'll love you, yeh Regardless of any outcome such as falling short in attempts to move forward, it is expressed that the person telling the story will always love them for trying. This might suggest strongly that this is a mother, but also a friend or a lover can fit very well also. Again this stands testament to the songs strength in relating to peoples own lives. Sleeping pills, no sleeping dogs lie never Far enough away I am not certain what ‘sleeping pills’ implies, perhaps this is indicative of the idea that sleeping pills are a way of escaping the current reality. To let a sleeping dog lie is to avoid a conflict so on this basis I think it is a strong statement that sleeping dogs don’t lie, nor can they be pushed far enough away for them to not be constantly re-emerging and confronting us. It is fundamental here that conflict will inevitably resurface so escaping reality is only perpetuating such confrontations and conflicts. Glistening in the cold sweat of guilt This really could mean a number of things, depending on the viewpoint you look at it from. If you take into account that the following line states that the onlooker has been watching this happen for many years it could imply that it is in fact that person who is glistening in a cold sweat of guilt for not intervening before things got out of control. An alternative view expressed by Suneera88 that draws on the previous line for this assumption claims that it is a dog (a man that cheated on his girlfriend) who is glistening in a cold sweat of guilt. Again this highlights the songs effectiveness in being able to made into something that people can relate to their own lives or other peoples lives in some way, shape or form. I’ve watched you slowly winding down for years You can’t keep on like this Now is as bad of time as any This is it, the moment of judgment where the person who is troubled by life’s obstacles has reached a point which can be no worse. From the perspective of the friend, mother or lover, no matter what happens from here on in can be no worse, again this points towards suicide with the lines ‘You cant keep on like this, now is a bad of time as any’ however I refuse to believe they are promoting that and would suggest instead that I along with many others have misread this. If you flip the ‘bad’ and replace it with ‘good’ that too might suggest suicide as an option, therefore if we stick with ‘bad’ and read it as ‘the timing couldn’t be worse’ then perhaps it would support the following chorus restating that these things are experienced by everyone and life is a learning experience in which no one was an angel, nobody was perfect and everyone fell short and made mistakes. There, there, baby It’s just text book stuff It’s in the ABC of growing up Now, now, darlin’ Oh don’t kill yourself This again reinforces my view that the idea behind ‘Now is as bad of time as any’ isn’t indicating the notion of suicide as an escape but instead this is said to stress the point that this is a very real option and although things are hard they will get through the hard times. 'Cause none of us were angels And you know I'll love you, yeh Again, no matter what the outcome, the person will be loved. It’s okay by me It’s okay by me It’s okay by me It was a long time ago Firstly, these lines say a lot about the song being able to be related to numerous different scenarios and adapted to peoples on interpretations. This song is very general in its lyrical ambitions, and deliberately made to be looked at as pertaining to any number of scenarios. Secondly, in my own orientation I would argue that it simply means that the friend, mother or lover or whoever is simply saying that whatever happened is in the past, and mistakes can be learnt from. For different scenarios this could apply to lovers cheating, a mother looking back on a child doing drugs or a friend observing another friend and an overwhelming string of mistakes, shortfalls or failures that lead to depression. It’s okay by me It’s okay by me It’s okay by me It was a - long - time - ago There, there, baby It’s just text book stuff It’s in the ABC of growing up Now, now, darlin’ Oh don’t lose your head 'Cause none of us were angels And you know I'll love you, yeh There, there, baby It’s just text book stuff It’s in the ABC of growing up Now, now, darlin’ Oh don’t kill yourself 'Cause none of us were angels And you know I'll love you, yeh I really hope you enjoyed my wrap up of the song lyrics. I sincerely apologise for the length, and it did take me quite some time but I am passionate about this song because I love it. Perhaps others will commend my resilience for writing a novel on a song whilst others will flame me for the wall of text. At the very least, I hope you read it and you can comment in relation to its validity or accuracy. Like all of you, I do love this song, and I am a fan of music of all kinds so go easy on the flames. =) |
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| Yellowcard – Words, Hands, Hearts Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I agree with all of the above. I'm not a huge Yellowcard fan because i dont know much about them and havent heard many of their songs but this one really hit home for me, it's currently my favourite song and has been for 6 months =) It's awesome! |
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