"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.
(Today we'll be talking about the reporting artists The Insane Clown Posse)
(They look too spooky) Dickface (It kinda reminds me of gang related)
(Before the anti-Christ who is coming)
Remember me bitch 8th grade
Ball park skinny ass well-fare aid
Ulster and Bruce brothers we was the shit
Dungeons Dragons, and Bruce Lee flicks
Quit school nobody missed us,
Nobody hugged and kissed us only dissed us
Now look at these beautiful model type high class women
Takin' my dick in em
You don't remember my kind in class
The whipped out freak starin' at your ass
Never had the courage to even say hi
Only smell your perfume vapors as you walk by
I'm the scrub that never crossed your mind
Now your flashing your titties at me waitin' in line
And that's fine while you're working your charm
Look beneath the paint bitch its the scrubs who won
You used to say "Ahhh Hah!"
Look at him the same pair of pants and that shirt again
An outcast I knew I had to do something
Figure out a way to make something out of nothin'
Open up shop got what you need
Speakers clothes CD's or bags of weed
But that shit got me nowhere except jail
Me and all my homies to broke to make the bail
So now we're right back at the place we started
Chuckles and laugh the second we turn our backs
Assed out but we was like "fuck y'all"
We got each other and the drop of the homie call
Look at us now bitch holdin' platinum
All up on my dick but I'm the same as back then
Forget the money and fame because
Beneath the paint life's just as it always was
Look at me!
Analyze! What you see?
Look at me!
Analyze! What you see?
Another girl I don't dare to confide in
Playing that role it hurts inside
Here I am thinking she wants me
She only wants that killer on her CD
Just when I couldn't feel any worse
Bitch asked me if I could paint my face first
The day I finally get to leave this land
Behind the paint will be the shell of a used up man
Behind the paint will be the shell of a used up man
The shell of a used up man
The shell of a used up man
Behind the paint will be the shell of a used up man (Analyze!)
The shell of a used up man
The shell of a used up man
Nothing left but the shell of a used up man
Nothing left but the shell of a used up man
Behind the paint will be the shell of a used up man (Analyze!)
The shell of a used up man
The shell of a used up man
(They look too spooky) Dickface (It kinda reminds me of gang related)
(Before the anti-Christ who is coming)
Remember me bitch 8th grade
Ball park skinny ass well-fare aid
Ulster and Bruce brothers we was the shit
Dungeons Dragons, and Bruce Lee flicks
Quit school nobody missed us,
Nobody hugged and kissed us only dissed us
Now look at these beautiful model type high class women
Takin' my dick in em
You don't remember my kind in class
The whipped out freak starin' at your ass
Never had the courage to even say hi
Only smell your perfume vapors as you walk by
I'm the scrub that never crossed your mind
Now your flashing your titties at me waitin' in line
And that's fine while you're working your charm
Look beneath the paint bitch its the scrubs who won
You used to say "Ahhh Hah!"
Look at him the same pair of pants and that shirt again
An outcast I knew I had to do something
Figure out a way to make something out of nothin'
Open up shop got what you need
Speakers clothes CD's or bags of weed
But that shit got me nowhere except jail
Me and all my homies to broke to make the bail
So now we're right back at the place we started
Chuckles and laugh the second we turn our backs
Assed out but we was like "fuck y'all"
We got each other and the drop of the homie call
Look at us now bitch holdin' platinum
All up on my dick but I'm the same as back then
Forget the money and fame because
Beneath the paint life's just as it always was
Look at me!
Analyze! What you see?
Look at me!
Analyze! What you see?
Another girl I don't dare to confide in
Playing that role it hurts inside
Here I am thinking she wants me
She only wants that killer on her CD
Just when I couldn't feel any worse
Bitch asked me if I could paint my face first
The day I finally get to leave this land
Behind the paint will be the shell of a used up man
Behind the paint will be the shell of a used up man
The shell of a used up man
The shell of a used up man
Behind the paint will be the shell of a used up man (Analyze!)
The shell of a used up man
The shell of a used up man
Nothing left but the shell of a used up man
Nothing left but the shell of a used up man
Behind the paint will be the shell of a used up man (Analyze!)
The shell of a used up man
The shell of a used up man
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
i guess you gotta know and understand them, but whatever...