"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.
Open up your heart
When you're sad and lonely
And your mind sees you only
Take a chance you can fight it
Open up your heart
When your sick incomplete
Watch the stars not your feet
Feel the wind blow on your mind
Now your seeing blind
Fight the urge to say no
Bring your friends then you'll know
Come inside step away
kill your fears today
Open up your heart
Kick the habit you have learned
You can do it you've been burned
When your sick eyes need a turn
Let the future learn
Open up your heart
When you're sad and lonely
And your mind sees you only
Take a chance you can fight it
Open up your heart
When your sick incomplete
Watch the stars not your feet
Feel the wind blow on your mind
Now your seeing blind
Fight the urge to say no
Bring your friends then you'll know
Come inside step away
kill your fears today
Open up your heart
Kick the habit you have learned
You can do it you've been burned
When your sick eyes need a turn
Let the future learn
Open up your heart
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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,
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
I think this song has a religious meaning behind it. I never thought of the Rapture as religious people, but this lyric says it all. It's asking "us" to open up our hearts to some superior force (God) when we fall and can't stand up. And although I'm not a religious person, I can still see the beauty in this song.