"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.
Slipping in and out of reason
And I don't mind
Side effects are expected
With this experiment of mine
I want to be reborn
Breath smoke
Think black and call it a night
A temporary eclipse outshines me for a moment
I see no end in sight now
And still I wait
For this stranger inside of me
To show himself and let me be
Slowly I increase the dosage
One more try and I'll get it right now
Feel my head expanding outward
I've arrived at a place
I haven't been before yeah
Something in the atmosphere
Is speaking what I want to hear
The walls have started breathing
The colors I am seeing
The sign ahead reads welcome neighbor
Give up all your fears and enter
Step on through no hesitation
No disguises
My eyes are wide open
And I can see for the first time
How did we get this far down
How do I find my way back
From this head I've let unkoil
No disguises
My eyes are wide open
And I can see for the first time
How did we get this far down
How do I find my way back
From this head I've let unkoil
And I don't mind
Side effects are expected
With this experiment of mine
I want to be reborn
Breath smoke
Think black and call it a night
A temporary eclipse outshines me for a moment
I see no end in sight now
And still I wait
For this stranger inside of me
To show himself and let me be
Slowly I increase the dosage
One more try and I'll get it right now
Feel my head expanding outward
I've arrived at a place
I haven't been before yeah
Something in the atmosphere
Is speaking what I want to hear
The walls have started breathing
The colors I am seeing
The sign ahead reads welcome neighbor
Give up all your fears and enter
Step on through no hesitation
No disguises
My eyes are wide open
And I can see for the first time
How did we get this far down
How do I find my way back
From this head I've let unkoil
No disguises
My eyes are wide open
And I can see for the first time
How did we get this far down
How do I find my way back
From this head I've let unkoil
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
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Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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.
Great Song.