"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 don't know how to break the news, but
It's pretty clear you'll be asked to choose between
What you lack and what you excuse in this
Tug of war
You can't say that they didn't warn you
Though you'd rather that they just ignore you
'Cause your devices are not working for you
Anymore
What you want
You don't know
You're with stupid now
You don't know how to manufacture
Sturdy bones with a hairline fracture
The crazy will of a Margaret thatcher that
They've all got
And though you pay for the hands they're shaking
The speeches and the mistakes they're making
As they struggle with the undertaking of
Simple thought
[Repeat: x2]
What you want
You don't know
You're with stupid now
What you know
You don't want to know
You're with stupid now
It's pretty clear you'll be asked to choose between
What you lack and what you excuse in this
Tug of war
You can't say that they didn't warn you
Though you'd rather that they just ignore you
'Cause your devices are not working for you
Anymore
What you want
You don't know
You're with stupid now
You don't know how to manufacture
Sturdy bones with a hairline fracture
The crazy will of a Margaret thatcher that
They've all got
And though you pay for the hands they're shaking
The speeches and the mistakes they're making
As they struggle with the undertaking of
Simple thought
[Repeat: x2]
What you want
You don't know
You're with stupid now
What you know
You don't want to know
You're with stupid now
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.
I never thought this song was about a personal relationship. It seems to me it's more about being in a formal/professional relationship that keeps you in limbo--you know, one step forward two steps back. I remember reading somewhere that this song was partially based on a British MP friend of hers--a small part of the political machine trying to do some good (but he's surrounded by self-serving politicians and idiots). I think that idea fits in quite well with the lyrics, given the references to making speeches and shaking hands (and more obviously, the Margaret Thatcher line). It could also be about her record company problems, though I'm wary of thinking every Aimee song is just another "fuck you" to a past record company. But again, it makes sense. In both situations it's about being stuck in a tug-of-war working situation with dangerous, self-serving idiots.