"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.
Where would you rather be?
Anywhere, anywhere but here
When will the time be right?
Anytime but now
Anywhere, anywhere but here
Anywhere, anywhere but here
On the edge of sleep, I was drifting for half the night
Anxious and restless, pressed down by the darkness
Bound up and wound up so tight
So tight
So many decisions, a million revisions
Caught between darkness and light
Wilderness of mirrors
World of polished steel
Gears and iron chains
Turn the grinding wheel
I run between the shadows
Some are phantoms, some are real
Where would you rather be?
Anywhere, anywhere but here
When will the time be right?
Anytime but now
Where would you rather be?
The doubt and the fear
I know would all disappear
Anywhere but here
Anywhere but here
On the edge of sleep, I heard voices behind the door
The known and the nameless, familiar and faceless
My angels and my demons at war
At war
Which one will lose depends on what I choose
Or maybe which voice I ignore
Wilderness of mirrors
Streets of cold desire
My precious sense of honor
Just a shield of rusty wire
I hold against the chaos
And the cross of holy fire
Where would you rather be?
Anywhere, anywhere but here
When will the time be right?
Anytime but now
Where would you rather be?
The doubt and the fear
I know would all disappear
Anywhere but here
Anywhere but here
Wilderness of mirrors
So easy to deceive
My precious sense of rightness
Is sometimes so naive
So that which I imagine
Is that which I believe
On the edge of sleep, I awoke to a sun so bright
Rested and fearless, cheered by your nearness
I knew which direction was right
Was right
The case had been tried by the jury inside
The choice between darkness and light
The choice between darkness and light
Anywhere, anywhere but here
When will the time be right?
Anytime but now
Anywhere, anywhere but here
Anywhere, anywhere but here
On the edge of sleep, I was drifting for half the night
Anxious and restless, pressed down by the darkness
Bound up and wound up so tight
So tight
So many decisions, a million revisions
Caught between darkness and light
Wilderness of mirrors
World of polished steel
Gears and iron chains
Turn the grinding wheel
I run between the shadows
Some are phantoms, some are real
Where would you rather be?
Anywhere, anywhere but here
When will the time be right?
Anytime but now
Where would you rather be?
The doubt and the fear
I know would all disappear
Anywhere but here
Anywhere but here
On the edge of sleep, I heard voices behind the door
The known and the nameless, familiar and faceless
My angels and my demons at war
At war
Which one will lose depends on what I choose
Or maybe which voice I ignore
Wilderness of mirrors
Streets of cold desire
My precious sense of honor
Just a shield of rusty wire
I hold against the chaos
And the cross of holy fire
Where would you rather be?
Anywhere, anywhere but here
When will the time be right?
Anytime but now
Where would you rather be?
The doubt and the fear
I know would all disappear
Anywhere but here
Anywhere but here
Wilderness of mirrors
So easy to deceive
My precious sense of rightness
Is sometimes so naive
So that which I imagine
Is that which I believe
On the edge of sleep, I awoke to a sun so bright
Rested and fearless, cheered by your nearness
I knew which direction was right
Was right
The case had been tried by the jury inside
The choice between darkness and light
The choice between darkness and light
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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"
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
I think this song is about choices. It is very hard sometimes to make a choice specially when you know that you could harm someone. Sometimes you want to do something that you know is not perfectly right:
My precious sense of honor Just a shield of rusty wire
My precious sense of rightness Is sometimes so naive
So it is very hard to decide between darkness and light.....