"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.
When the french maids cigarette turns
Burns like a boiling tapeworm
(That was really something baby,
That was really something baby)
When the chandeleers shatter,
Your guest's gowns turn to tatters, the portraits just chatter
(That was really something baby,
That was really something baby)
Can you feel your sweat beading porcelin?
Your skeleton outgrowing it's skin?
It's the pinball masquerade....
Oh Oh Oh I saw the curtains of hair,
Oh Oh Oh I saw my fingers tear.
They said "we are the six nightmares (oh yeah)
We are the six nightmares (oh yeah).
Oh Oh Oh I saw the face of a girl strapped to a poison pear she said:
"We are the six nightmares (oh yeah)
We are the six nightmares (oh yeah)"
I saw a millionaire eat his shadow,
I saw a water clock beat a widow
They said if one man's life is the sum of something
I want to see your fears materializing!"
Where are the six nightmares at this costume bash?
Open your throat look in the raw gash!
You hold each other by well groomed hands,
Mumbling prayers to a neglected jesus.
The matradees quiver as they watch you shiver as the mask
And the mouth knit into each other.
Our laughter was deafining but our lips
But our lips but our lips were trembling.
Now the lady with the peacock mask,
Is writhing around in broken monicle glass,
Imprisoned like a beetle laying on it's back,
And the man striped up and clawed calico like a cat,
Is trapped forever looking like that.
"All your luxury, all your well hidden trash,
All your empty wine bottles disguised as class,
All the bastard children you pay off,
All the money it takes for you to get off.
"May I have this dance?"
The dark dealer takes your hands...
All your memories all your forgotten plans/one night stands;
They are the six nightmares at the masquerade.
Oh Oh Oh I saw the mirrors cringe
Oh Oh Oh the choir voices bend
Oh Oh Oh the costume in my skin...they said
"We are the six nightmares (oh yeah!)
We are the six nightmares (oh yeah)"
Burns like a boiling tapeworm
(That was really something baby,
That was really something baby)
When the chandeleers shatter,
Your guest's gowns turn to tatters, the portraits just chatter
(That was really something baby,
That was really something baby)
Can you feel your sweat beading porcelin?
Your skeleton outgrowing it's skin?
It's the pinball masquerade....
Oh Oh Oh I saw the curtains of hair,
Oh Oh Oh I saw my fingers tear.
They said "we are the six nightmares (oh yeah)
We are the six nightmares (oh yeah).
Oh Oh Oh I saw the face of a girl strapped to a poison pear she said:
"We are the six nightmares (oh yeah)
We are the six nightmares (oh yeah)"
I saw a millionaire eat his shadow,
I saw a water clock beat a widow
They said if one man's life is the sum of something
I want to see your fears materializing!"
Where are the six nightmares at this costume bash?
Open your throat look in the raw gash!
You hold each other by well groomed hands,
Mumbling prayers to a neglected jesus.
The matradees quiver as they watch you shiver as the mask
And the mouth knit into each other.
Our laughter was deafining but our lips
But our lips but our lips were trembling.
Now the lady with the peacock mask,
Is writhing around in broken monicle glass,
Imprisoned like a beetle laying on it's back,
And the man striped up and clawed calico like a cat,
Is trapped forever looking like that.
"All your luxury, all your well hidden trash,
All your empty wine bottles disguised as class,
All the bastard children you pay off,
All the money it takes for you to get off.
"May I have this dance?"
The dark dealer takes your hands...
All your memories all your forgotten plans/one night stands;
They are the six nightmares at the masquerade.
Oh Oh Oh I saw the mirrors cringe
Oh Oh Oh the choir voices bend
Oh Oh Oh the costume in my skin...they said
"We are the six nightmares (oh yeah!)
We are the six nightmares (oh yeah)"
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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”
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."
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.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
That part about the rich man eating his shadow implies how money dosen't necessarily bring inner happiness, but I'm not sure how this relates to the rest of the song.