"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.
You can tell
From the scars on my arms
And the cracks in my hips
And the dents in my car
And the blisters on my lips
That I'm not the carefullest of girls
You can tell
From the glass on the floor
And the strings that're breaking
And I keep on breaking more
And it looks like I am shaking
But it's just the temperature
And then again
If it were any colder I could disengage
If I were any older I could act my age
But I don't think that you'd believe me
It's not the way
I'm meant to be
It's just the way
The operation made me
And you can tell
From the state of my room
That they let me out too soon
And the pills that I ate
Came a couple years too late
And I've got some issues to work through
There I go again
Pretending to be you
Make believing
That I have a soul beneath the surface
Trying to convince you
It was accidentally on purpose
I am not so serious
This passion is a plagiarism
I might join your century
But only on a rare occasion
I was taken out
Before the labor pains set in and now
Behold the world's worst accident
I am the girl anachronism
And you can tell
By the red in my eyes
And the bruises on my thighs
And the knots in my hair
And the bathtub full of flies
That I'm not right now at all
There I go again
Pretending that I'll fall
Don't call the doctors
'Cause they've seen it all before
They'll say just
Let her crash
And burn
She'll learn
The attention just encourages her
And you can tell
From the full-body cast
That you're sorry that you asked
Though you did everything you could
Like any decent person would
But I might be catching so don't touch
You'll start believing
You're immune to gravity and stuff
Don't get me wet
Because the bandages will all come off
And you can tell
From the smoke at the stake
That the current state is critical
Well it is the little things, for instance
In the time it takes to break it
She can make up ten excuses
Please excuse her for the day
It's just the way the medication makes her
I don't necessarily believe there is a cure for this
So I might join your century but only as a doubtful guest
I was too precarious removed as a caesarian
Behold the worlds worst accident
I am the girl anachronism
I am the girl anachronism
I am the girl anachronism
I am the girl anachronism
I am the girl
I am the girl
I am the girl
I am the girl anachronism
From the scars on my arms
And the cracks in my hips
And the dents in my car
And the blisters on my lips
That I'm not the carefullest of girls
You can tell
From the glass on the floor
And the strings that're breaking
And I keep on breaking more
And it looks like I am shaking
But it's just the temperature
And then again
If it were any colder I could disengage
If I were any older I could act my age
But I don't think that you'd believe me
It's not the way
I'm meant to be
It's just the way
The operation made me
And you can tell
From the state of my room
That they let me out too soon
And the pills that I ate
Came a couple years too late
And I've got some issues to work through
There I go again
Pretending to be you
Make believing
That I have a soul beneath the surface
Trying to convince you
It was accidentally on purpose
I am not so serious
This passion is a plagiarism
I might join your century
But only on a rare occasion
I was taken out
Before the labor pains set in and now
Behold the world's worst accident
I am the girl anachronism
And you can tell
By the red in my eyes
And the bruises on my thighs
And the knots in my hair
And the bathtub full of flies
That I'm not right now at all
There I go again
Pretending that I'll fall
Don't call the doctors
'Cause they've seen it all before
They'll say just
Let her crash
And burn
She'll learn
The attention just encourages her
And you can tell
From the full-body cast
That you're sorry that you asked
Though you did everything you could
Like any decent person would
But I might be catching so don't touch
You'll start believing
You're immune to gravity and stuff
Don't get me wet
Because the bandages will all come off
And you can tell
From the smoke at the stake
That the current state is critical
Well it is the little things, for instance
In the time it takes to break it
She can make up ten excuses
Please excuse her for the day
It's just the way the medication makes her
I don't necessarily believe there is a cure for this
So I might join your century but only as a doubtful guest
I was too precarious removed as a caesarian
Behold the worlds worst accident
I am the girl anachronism
I am the girl anachronism
I am the girl anachronism
I am the girl anachronism
I am the girl
I am the girl
I am the girl
I am the girl anachronism
Lyrics submitted by okokayok, edited by fantascination
Girl Anachronism Lyrics as written by Amanda Palmer
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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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,
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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.
I love this song so much. I think that we all have a bit of "the crazy" in us so I can relate to some of the bits in the song. I love the sound of the piano and it reminds me of the really old silent films. I keep picturing a run away train, and someone tied to train tracks, and the sinister villian looking on. I guess even the piano sound could tie into the definition of anachronism, very clever :)