"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.
Lazy yellow moon comin' up tonight
Shinin' through the trees
Crickets are singin' and lightning bugs
Are floatin' on a breeze
Baby get ready
Across the field where the crick turns back
By the old stump road
I'm gonna take you to a special place
That nobody knows
Baby get ready, ooh-ooh
You and me goin' fishin' in the dark
Lying on our backs and countin' the stars
Where the cool grass grows
Down by the river in the full moon light
We'll be fallin' in love in the middle of the night
Just movin' slow
Stayin' the whole night through
It feels so good to be with you
Spring is almost over and the summer's comin'
And the days are gettin' long
I waited all winter for the time to be right
Just to take you along
Baby get ready
And it don't matter if we sit forever
And the fish don't bite
We'll jump in a river and cool ourselves
From the heat of the night
Baby get ready, ooh-ooh
You and me goin' fishin' in the dark
Lyin' on our backs and countin' the stars
Where the cool grass grows
Down by the river in the full moon light
We'll be fallin' in love in the middle of the night
Just movin' slow
Stayin' the whole night through
It feels so good to be with
You and me goin' fishin' in the dark
Lyin' on our backs and countin' the stars
Where the cool grass grows
Down by the river in the full moon light
We'll be fallin' in love in the middle of the night
Just movin' slow
You and me goin' fishin' in the dark
Lyin' on our backs and countin' the stars
Where the cool grass grows
Down by the river in the full moon light
We'll be fallin' in love in the middle of the night
Just movin' slow
Shinin' through the trees
Crickets are singin' and lightning bugs
Are floatin' on a breeze
Baby get ready
Across the field where the crick turns back
By the old stump road
I'm gonna take you to a special place
That nobody knows
Baby get ready, ooh-ooh
You and me goin' fishin' in the dark
Lying on our backs and countin' the stars
Where the cool grass grows
Down by the river in the full moon light
We'll be fallin' in love in the middle of the night
Just movin' slow
Stayin' the whole night through
It feels so good to be with you
Spring is almost over and the summer's comin'
And the days are gettin' long
I waited all winter for the time to be right
Just to take you along
Baby get ready
And it don't matter if we sit forever
And the fish don't bite
We'll jump in a river and cool ourselves
From the heat of the night
Baby get ready, ooh-ooh
You and me goin' fishin' in the dark
Lyin' on our backs and countin' the stars
Where the cool grass grows
Down by the river in the full moon light
We'll be fallin' in love in the middle of the night
Just movin' slow
Stayin' the whole night through
It feels so good to be with
You and me goin' fishin' in the dark
Lyin' on our backs and countin' the stars
Where the cool grass grows
Down by the river in the full moon light
We'll be fallin' in love in the middle of the night
Just movin' slow
You and me goin' fishin' in the dark
Lyin' on our backs and countin' the stars
Where the cool grass grows
Down by the river in the full moon light
We'll be fallin' in love in the middle of the night
Just movin' slow
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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"
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
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/
I hate country music...but this song is just great. Love it. There are no cryptic meanings, it is what it is. A great, straight forward love song.