"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.
The siren sings a lonely song
Of all the wants and hungers
The lust of love a brute desire
The ledge of life goes under
Divide the dream into the flesh
Kaleidoscope and candle eyes
Empty winds scrape on the soul
But never stop to realize
Animal whisperings
Intoxicate the night
Hypnotize the desperate
Slow motion light
Wash away into the rain
Blood, milk and sky
Hollow moons illuminate
And beauty never dies
Running wild, running blind
In the body deep
A thousand years beside myself
I do not sleep
Seduce the world at rest
Dead water lies
Ride the only one who knows
Beauty never dies
Of all the wants and hungers
The lust of love a brute desire
The ledge of life goes under
Divide the dream into the flesh
Kaleidoscope and candle eyes
Empty winds scrape on the soul
But never stop to realize
Animal whisperings
Intoxicate the night
Hypnotize the desperate
Slow motion light
Wash away into the rain
Blood, milk and sky
Hollow moons illuminate
And beauty never dies
Running wild, running blind
In the body deep
A thousand years beside myself
I do not sleep
Seduce the world at rest
Dead water lies
Ride the only one who knows
Beauty never dies
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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."
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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.
Rob is making references to the Sirens in The Odyssey. The Sirens are very beautiful mysterious women who stay on an island and sing. Their voices are heard by any passing ships. They are lured into the beauty of there voices. hence
Hypnotize the desperate
Once lured in they meet there demise and are killed. These Sirens show no signs of aging. Their beauty is everlasting they sing for eternity luring in the weak minded.
I do not sleep - Seduce The world it never Screams Dead water lies Ride the only one who Knows - Beauty never dies
I’m guessing all the “ohhhhh ahhhhhhh” ‘s in the song are the Sirens. Very hypnotic song. One of my favorites from White Zombie.
Urh...another interpretation into "love", I swear...lol..
Blood Milk and Sky is a mystic ritual performed by the Masai/Wasai tribes of Africa in which they drink the blood from a cow ... truthfully, that's all I know about that ceremony. But I am sure this has to do with passing down the strengths and spirits of ancestors again and again, with the animalism often associated with such ceremonies and possibly alot more to do with that than something about "love".
It's even in the very music itself, the various instruments used.
They were gonna makea video for this song but they broke up :(
marinbryce2: The United States is hardly the only nation to have red/white/blue as its colours. Ever hear of the United Kingdom? France? 'Duuuh' yourself, twit.
Thanks to those who did their research, rather than just applying knee-jerk ethnocentrism.
Ok...I don't know how everyone got this tribe nonsense. Well...these people drink milk and blood and those two things are in the title and nothing in the song refers to that, but that HAS to be it. Sorry, but no, it isn't. I completely agree that Blood, Milk, and Sky is America, red, white and blue. But so many other countries are red white and blue!! says some turd. Well, that's fine but Rob is from America so it only makes sense that most Americans think Red White and Blue and think America not "Well, could they possibly be refering to my country or a plethora of others?" I am pretty sure this song is a comparison of budding America to a Siren. Luring them in with false hope, grandeur, and seduction only to kill or betray them, as many immigrants came seeking the land of oppertunity and finding only witch hunts and poverty.
White Zombie - Blood, Milk and Sky
copy & paste the url into your adress bar
fileden.com/files/2007/10/17/1518918/zombie/11%20Blood%2C%20Milk%20and%20Sky.mp3
myspace.com/agnosticecho00
I can get you basically any White Zombie url you want
wow the Masai are f'd up... they thrive on crap... literally
kent.k12.wa.us/staff/DarleneBishop/kenya/masai/masai.html
read the part about the cows throat being drained...
The tribes word for God is Ngai which also means sky...
so it does fit
Rob does make a whole lot of America references in White Zombie & Rob Zombie, I think he's oddly patriotic...
it's a clever combo... it also fits with the siren being America being thought of as a prosperous place when really we're just a "fly trap" of sorts
I'm not saying any of these ideas were mine at all... i first read all of these things here & I just wanted to agree and confirm that I think you guys are collectively right
there's a couple remixes of the song too... message me for a url on myspace if you want it
I think it's actually really good
This is a very powerful song, if you haven't heard it, download it (it has to be the Astrocreep 2000 version though) Trust me, you'll love this song.
i do love this song
Damn, now there's a person does their research. I love this song and always wondered what it was about. (I too made a love interpretation hangs head)
Thanks for enlightening me!
Interesting theories... I'm not entirely sure about the meaning, but this song fucking kicks ass!