"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.
Diamond eyes
That burn me and turn me to stone
Crystallize
And freeze me in clear monochrome
Turn me to stone; do anything you want with me
Turn me to stone; do anything you want
Stereotomy
We can make it together
Do anything you want with me
Do anything you want
Scarlet minds
Possess me and I feel no shame
Silent knives
Dissect me and I feel no pain
Stereotomy
We can make it together
Do anything you want with me
Do anything you want
Stereotomy
We can make it forever
Do anything you want with me
Do anything you want
Starlight beams
Project me in red blue and green
Velvet dreams
Protect me when I hit the screen
Stereotomy
We can make it together
Do anything you want with me, do anything you want
Stereotomy
We can make it forever
It's always the same, it's always the same
Stereotomy, we can make it
We can make it, do anything you want
Turn me to stone
Do anything you want with me
Cover my eyes
There's nothing more they need to see
Turn me to stone
Before there's nothing left of me
Make me a rock
And not what I appear to be
Turn me to stone
Turn me to stone
That burn me and turn me to stone
Crystallize
And freeze me in clear monochrome
Turn me to stone; do anything you want with me
Turn me to stone; do anything you want
Stereotomy
We can make it together
Do anything you want with me
Do anything you want
Scarlet minds
Possess me and I feel no shame
Silent knives
Dissect me and I feel no pain
Stereotomy
We can make it together
Do anything you want with me
Do anything you want
Stereotomy
We can make it forever
Do anything you want with me
Do anything you want
Starlight beams
Project me in red blue and green
Velvet dreams
Protect me when I hit the screen
Stereotomy
We can make it together
Do anything you want with me, do anything you want
Stereotomy
We can make it forever
It's always the same, it's always the same
Stereotomy, we can make it
We can make it, do anything you want
Turn me to stone
Do anything you want with me
Cover my eyes
There's nothing more they need to see
Turn me to stone
Before there's nothing left of me
Make me a rock
And not what I appear to be
Turn me to stone
Turn me to stone
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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.
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."
"Stereotomy" is an architectural term referring to the precise cutting of stones to place them together without having to use mortar as a bond. How it applies to the song, I'm not sure.
Okay, I think I got it. From what I can tell, the underlying theme of the album "Stereotomy" is celebrities and how they are kind-of molded and interact with society.
Looking at the lyrics, I think this song is about how actors become canvases; the writers invent characters and then use the actors to carry them out. Again, I'm not sure...just a thought.
The official video emphasizes the manipulation of images with showing people doing things and then the action suddenly stops, or suddenly changes. I'm thinking the term applies in the precise cutting of various sections of the video and song to make it seem real yet surreal.
Is Stereotomy just a name? or what does it mean?
The lines:
Starlight beams Project me in red blue and green Velvet dreams Protect me when I hit the screen
...are a reference to television. In the now old 'standard' tube TV, the screen (picture) is made up of red, blue and green pxels. If you look very closely at such a screen, you can clearly make them out.
So, taken with the repeated "do anything you want", my early take (without too much thought) refers to how television or video and/or images in general can be deceivving or manipulated.
sonic modernity
Yeah, surveillance, that's it. It's the 'Eye in the Sky' concept back again. But just a comment, never saw a better song accompanied with a worse video, maybe along with 'Five Miles Out' by Mike Oldfield.
What about surveillance??
I think AP covered that in Eye in the Sky.
Yeah, but I think it comes back again here. In 'Turn of a Friendly Card' there is an instrumental track based in a Poe's tale, 'The Gold Bug', although they had covered that in 'Tales'. In 'Eye in the Sky' 'Step by Step' speaks about gambling and seeking for fortune, although that time had been covered in 'Turn'. Just guessing... I think although 'Stereotomy' hasn't got an 'official' or specific concept, all the songs speak about alienation in modern life.
Yes, but I would say as a smaller point to the larger "Manipulation/Control" of or through the media.