"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.
Animation
Breathes a cloudless mind
Fascination
Leaves the doubting blind
Until the circle breaks and wisdom lies ahead
The faithful live Awake
The rest remain misled
Some will transcend spinning years
One as if time disappears
Innocence faded
The mirror falls behind you
Trinity jaded
I break down walls to find you
Callow and vain
Fixed like a fossil, shrouding pain
Passionless stage
Distant like brothers
Wearing apathetic displays
Sharing flesh like envy in cages
Condescending
Not intending to end
Some will transcend spinning years
One as if time disappears
Innocence faded
The mirror falls behind you
Trinity jaded
I break down walls to find you
Beginnings get complicated
The farther we progress
Opinions are calculated
Immune to openness
Beyond the circle's edge
We're driven by her blessings
Forever hesitating
Caught beneath the wheel
Innocence faded
The mirror falls behind you
Cynically jaded
The child will crawl to find you
Breathes a cloudless mind
Fascination
Leaves the doubting blind
Until the circle breaks and wisdom lies ahead
The faithful live Awake
The rest remain misled
Some will transcend spinning years
One as if time disappears
Innocence faded
The mirror falls behind you
Trinity jaded
I break down walls to find you
Callow and vain
Fixed like a fossil, shrouding pain
Passionless stage
Distant like brothers
Wearing apathetic displays
Sharing flesh like envy in cages
Condescending
Not intending to end
Some will transcend spinning years
One as if time disappears
Innocence faded
The mirror falls behind you
Trinity jaded
I break down walls to find you
Beginnings get complicated
The farther we progress
Opinions are calculated
Immune to openness
Beyond the circle's edge
We're driven by her blessings
Forever hesitating
Caught beneath the wheel
Innocence faded
The mirror falls behind you
Cynically jaded
The child will crawl to find you
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Blue
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“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
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Amazing
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Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
My favorite Dream Theater song. Love the guitar intro. Very Melodic. Awake is definatly my favorite album.