"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.
A vision, a call
In times before my fall
In life before I became
I dreamt I was insane
I saw the unseen
I heard the unheard
I rode the sky above the earth
I felt the breeze of the world
I walked along
I should have retrieved
What was real as a merry blue sky
Was long gone within of me
Crimson tide
Wave of lost time
Scenario of a velvet blue sky
I dreamt about day
But I lived in the night
I looked and I saw
That in my dream I was free
Red turned blue
White became black
The daylight erased the shadow of me
Insanity reached
Whispering voice
The sky above the stars
The wind below the moon
The light created shadows
The dark beyond the eyes
I sat before myself
I looked above below
Doves and birds, grass and trees
Where was all I used to see?
Why am I not
What I used to be?
I embrace
My living self
I see the unseen
I hear the unheard
I learned the secret
But not before I learned
Night divide day, day erase night
Light of day, day of Darkness
They are inside my head
Climbing the walls
Falling off the ceiling
Jumping on the floor
Voices and calls
And on the edge of sanity
I stumble and fall
Through the gates of the endless halls
Come walk with me
Through the valley of eternity
In passion I see
Am I the one only the mirror sees?
Through the valley of eternity
Am I the one only the mirror sees?
A distant call for me
I am lost within my memory
Lost in the maze
The secret place that no one's ever seen
I am lost within my memory
The secret place that no one's ever seen
Silent cries of despair
Through the valley of eternity
What sanity remains
Within this frail and twisted mind
I am all alone
Me, myself, and I
Echoes pound my head
Shapeless forms everywhere
I think, therefore I am
You are a fantasy
Made by me
I dream this world
When I end, the world will end with me
I am everything
You are me
Sleep my child to never be
I fell asleep, to sweet lullaby
A sleep in which I had a dream
In this dream
I conceived a perfect plan
That would change the face of mankind
For it was my dream
To create a perfect world
From this cold imperfect world
And all the answers were inside my mind
And I was unafraid
The dream was so enticing
Light of day, day of Darkness
The soul of an angel
Will live forever
The love of the innocent
Will last forever
A moments passion
I hear a desperate cry
I weep for the weak
I pray for the strong
But now I see it fate
And I'm lying here alone
Through Crimson eye
And shattered lie,
Preform the sacrifice
Of the innocent life
There's blood on the bended knee
The light paint a shadow on me
Will I forsake you
Or will I the forsaken be?
I left my body
Come meet me in my dreams
It's been so long
Would you know me?
I see the unseen
I heard the unheard
I learned the secret
But not before I learned
Time stands still, but I wonder
Who is watching you
Who is watching me
Will I forsake you
Or will I forsaken me
I am so lost but still I am so free
As a traveller
I seek hospitality
As a wanderer
I seek immortality
As a journey through insanity
I seek divine comparity
Funeral Symphony
Behind me, a dark shaping mass
I turn and face, the face of deception
A face without the warmth
Of dignity and grace
In Twilight atmosphere
A silent seductive call
To my new world
A great new world
Where right is wrong
And justice is gone
I fell asleep, to sweet lullaby
A sleep in which I had a dream
In this dream
I conceived a perfect plan
That would change the face of mankind
For it was my dream
To create a perfect world
From this cold imperfect world
And all the answers were inside my mind
And I was unafraid
The dream was so enticing
In this dream I conceived the perfect plan
I sit here alone, so cold
Left in the dark, to feel
Pity my soul
What is left to say?
What is left to see?
Where did I fail?
Watch me and my new desire
I am emptier than ever
But I feel complete
I conceal myself
Until night falls
I am who I am
I just want to be
I hear a voice
Who could it be?
Is there anybody else here with me?
Why do you torture me?
Won't you leave me be?
Am I whom I should be?
For all that you are lies only within of me
Out of reach, out of sight
I feel strange and lost
can you lead me right?
It's too dark for me to see
Capture of soul
won't you please forgive me?
I heard the tales
Of the secret way
That tears are replacements
For what has been taken away
From us and those who were lost
Still, all I see is burning fields
Still, all I hear is dying screams
For all that you are
Lies only within me
I am the future
I am the past
I am what you wish for
The god you wish to be
I am the voice
Behind the silent scream
I am the dark
I am the light you'll never see
I am the blood
That makes your soul free
I am pure
I am unclean
It takes one to be a god
It takes one to feel lonely
It takes two to outlast me
It takes two to feel complete
It takes a moon to light the stars
It takes a light to see the dark
Insanity reached
Whispering voice
The sky above the stars
The wind below the moon
The light created shadows
The dark beyond the eyes
I sat before myself
In times before my fall
In life before I became
I dreamt I was insane
I saw the unseen
I heard the unheard
I rode the sky above the earth
I felt the breeze of the world
I walked along
I should have retrieved
What was real as a merry blue sky
Was long gone within of me
Crimson tide
Wave of lost time
Scenario of a velvet blue sky
I dreamt about day
But I lived in the night
I looked and I saw
That in my dream I was free
Red turned blue
White became black
The daylight erased the shadow of me
Insanity reached
Whispering voice
The sky above the stars
The wind below the moon
The light created shadows
The dark beyond the eyes
I sat before myself
I looked above below
Doves and birds, grass and trees
Where was all I used to see?
Why am I not
What I used to be?
I embrace
My living self
I see the unseen
I hear the unheard
I learned the secret
But not before I learned
Night divide day, day erase night
Light of day, day of Darkness
They are inside my head
Climbing the walls
Falling off the ceiling
Jumping on the floor
Voices and calls
And on the edge of sanity
I stumble and fall
Through the gates of the endless halls
Come walk with me
Through the valley of eternity
In passion I see
Am I the one only the mirror sees?
Through the valley of eternity
Am I the one only the mirror sees?
A distant call for me
I am lost within my memory
Lost in the maze
The secret place that no one's ever seen
I am lost within my memory
The secret place that no one's ever seen
Silent cries of despair
Through the valley of eternity
What sanity remains
Within this frail and twisted mind
I am all alone
Me, myself, and I
Echoes pound my head
Shapeless forms everywhere
I think, therefore I am
You are a fantasy
Made by me
I dream this world
When I end, the world will end with me
I am everything
You are me
Sleep my child to never be
I fell asleep, to sweet lullaby
A sleep in which I had a dream
In this dream
I conceived a perfect plan
That would change the face of mankind
For it was my dream
To create a perfect world
From this cold imperfect world
And all the answers were inside my mind
And I was unafraid
The dream was so enticing
Light of day, day of Darkness
The soul of an angel
Will live forever
The love of the innocent
Will last forever
A moments passion
I hear a desperate cry
I weep for the weak
I pray for the strong
But now I see it fate
And I'm lying here alone
Through Crimson eye
And shattered lie,
Preform the sacrifice
Of the innocent life
There's blood on the bended knee
The light paint a shadow on me
Will I forsake you
Or will I the forsaken be?
I left my body
Come meet me in my dreams
It's been so long
Would you know me?
I see the unseen
I heard the unheard
I learned the secret
But not before I learned
Time stands still, but I wonder
Who is watching you
Who is watching me
Will I forsake you
Or will I forsaken me
I am so lost but still I am so free
As a traveller
I seek hospitality
As a wanderer
I seek immortality
As a journey through insanity
I seek divine comparity
Funeral Symphony
Behind me, a dark shaping mass
I turn and face, the face of deception
A face without the warmth
Of dignity and grace
In Twilight atmosphere
A silent seductive call
To my new world
A great new world
Where right is wrong
And justice is gone
I fell asleep, to sweet lullaby
A sleep in which I had a dream
In this dream
I conceived a perfect plan
That would change the face of mankind
For it was my dream
To create a perfect world
From this cold imperfect world
And all the answers were inside my mind
And I was unafraid
The dream was so enticing
In this dream I conceived the perfect plan
I sit here alone, so cold
Left in the dark, to feel
Pity my soul
What is left to say?
What is left to see?
Where did I fail?
Watch me and my new desire
I am emptier than ever
But I feel complete
I conceal myself
Until night falls
I am who I am
I just want to be
I hear a voice
Who could it be?
Is there anybody else here with me?
Why do you torture me?
Won't you leave me be?
Am I whom I should be?
For all that you are lies only within of me
Out of reach, out of sight
I feel strange and lost
can you lead me right?
It's too dark for me to see
Capture of soul
won't you please forgive me?
I heard the tales
Of the secret way
That tears are replacements
For what has been taken away
From us and those who were lost
Still, all I see is burning fields
Still, all I hear is dying screams
For all that you are
Lies only within me
I am the future
I am the past
I am what you wish for
The god you wish to be
I am the voice
Behind the silent scream
I am the dark
I am the light you'll never see
I am the blood
That makes your soul free
I am pure
I am unclean
It takes one to be a god
It takes one to feel lonely
It takes two to outlast me
It takes two to feel complete
It takes a moon to light the stars
It takes a light to see the dark
Insanity reached
Whispering voice
The sky above the stars
The wind below the moon
The light created shadows
The dark beyond the eyes
I sat before myself
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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"
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
It's strange to me that with how many people"love" this song, no body that commented, fully knows what it's about. Torcyht's daughter died around the same time as his son was born. The song is about how devastatingly terrible it felt when he lost his daughter (day of darkness) and how amazing it felt when his son was born (light of day). Probably the two most extreme emotions you could experience and he had them happen at almost the same time. It's unimaginable what that must have been like.