"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.
Saturday night and you're still hangin' around
Tired of living in your one horse town
You'd like to find a little hole in the ground
For awhile
So you go to the village in your tie dyed jeans
And you stare at the junkies and the closet queens
It's like some pornographic magazine
And you smile
Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push, and you'll be smilin'
Oh yeah
Your sister's gone out, she's on a date
You just sit at home and masturbate
Your phone is gonna ring soon
But you just can't wait
For that call
So you stand on the corner in your New English clothes
And you look so polished from your hair down to your toes
Ah but still your fingers gonna pick your nose
After all
Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push, and you'll be smilin'
So you decide to take a holiday
You got your tape deck and your brand new Chevrolet
Ah, there ain't no place to go anyway
What for
So you got everything, ah, but nothing's cool
They just found your father in the swimming pool
And you guess you won't be going back to school
Anymore
Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push, and you'll be smilin'
So you play your albums, and you smoke your pot
And you meet your girlfriend in the parking lot
Oh but still you're aching for the things you haven't got
What went wrong
And if you can't understand why your world is so dead
Why you've got to keep in style and feed your head
Well you're 21 and still your mother makes your bed
And that's too long
Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push, and you'll be smilin'
Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push, and you'll be smilin'
Tired of living in your one horse town
You'd like to find a little hole in the ground
For awhile
So you go to the village in your tie dyed jeans
And you stare at the junkies and the closet queens
It's like some pornographic magazine
And you smile
Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push, and you'll be smilin'
Oh yeah
Your sister's gone out, she's on a date
You just sit at home and masturbate
Your phone is gonna ring soon
But you just can't wait
For that call
So you stand on the corner in your New English clothes
And you look so polished from your hair down to your toes
Ah but still your fingers gonna pick your nose
After all
Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push, and you'll be smilin'
So you decide to take a holiday
You got your tape deck and your brand new Chevrolet
Ah, there ain't no place to go anyway
What for
So you got everything, ah, but nothing's cool
They just found your father in the swimming pool
And you guess you won't be going back to school
Anymore
Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push, and you'll be smilin'
So you play your albums, and you smoke your pot
And you meet your girlfriend in the parking lot
Oh but still you're aching for the things you haven't got
What went wrong
And if you can't understand why your world is so dead
Why you've got to keep in style and feed your head
Well you're 21 and still your mother makes your bed
And that's too long
Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push, and you'll be smilin'
Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push, and you'll be smilin'
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Ebba Grön
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
its definatly about escapism. a guy whos 21, and his life is going nowhere, and he uses drugs and drinking and masterbation to get away from it all. 'captain jack' could be jack daniels or heroin, they both work.