"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 get what you see
I saw a rich fuck giving charity
Saw an evil emperor
Wearing my clothes
They're far from the best
But they might suit you better than the rest
Just looking in the mirror
Will make you a brave man
I know my place
Hate my face
I know how I begin
And how I'll end
Strung out again
Was a parliament of owls
Fly over a city of canals
Floating on the body
Floating in the Dalles
You get what you see
But some things they just change invisibly
I don't know where I'm going
And I don't even want to know
They're far from the best
But they might suit you better than the rest
Just looking in the mirror
Will make you a brave man
Standing, smiling
On some fantasy island
Looking at my lost reflection again
But a tide's coming in
And I'm strung out again
Strung out again
I saw a rich fuck giving charity
Saw an evil emperor
Wearing my clothes
They're far from the best
But they might suit you better than the rest
Just looking in the mirror
Will make you a brave man
I know my place
Hate my face
I know how I begin
And how I'll end
Strung out again
Was a parliament of owls
Fly over a city of canals
Floating on the body
Floating in the Dalles
You get what you see
But some things they just change invisibly
I don't know where I'm going
And I don't even want to know
They're far from the best
But they might suit you better than the rest
Just looking in the mirror
Will make you a brave man
Standing, smiling
On some fantasy island
Looking at my lost reflection again
But a tide's coming in
And I'm strung out again
Strung out again
Lyrics submitted by Mopnugget, edited by Jate, Singens, jason10324
Strung Out Again Lyrics as written by Steven Paul Smith
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
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"
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
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.
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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.
Elliott Smith was a giant talent. His music combines gorgeous Beatles melodies with sensitive, highly intelligent Sylvia Plath/Leonard Cohen like lyrics. There are very few singer songwriters who even come close.
Without going into too much detail as to how I know this, I have some ideas regarding the meaning of this song. Elliott Smith's Achillies heel was his self-loathing. He was viciously self-critical and sadly, this loathing was based largely on his outer appearance. Despite having tremendous inner beauty which is clearly reflected in his music, Elliott just couldn't stand looking in the mirror - literally. This was likely one of the main reasons (but not the only one) behind his depression, recurring drug addiction and eventual suicide. He leaves behind his art, which along with the circumstances of his death, make him a singularily tragic figure.
In my opinion, Elliott Smith the only artist I would place above the Beatles.
The correct lyrics, I believe, are "I saw a rich fuck given charity," not "giving charity."
Oh man... Heroin is the death of me, destructive yet sooo seductive. Anyone who has been strung out can relate to this one. We know how it will end, yes indeed, strung out yet again. You can stop but you can't kick. Sooner or later it'll get you. But man it feels good...
It seems to me that he caught a glimps of himself in a moment of clarity......Was he the rich fuck at the charity? I wonder if he had lost sight of who he was and then was reminded of the impending doom......i dunoo I really enjoy everyones comments though. Either way Its hard to hypothesize about the grief he must have f felt....it's all so well disquised and personal....
i don't know where i'm going and i don't even wanna know
best song on the new album
it's a damn shame i won't ever get to buy another elliott smith album
i don't know there might be another album since they didn't put everything on this album that smith wanted on it...
this song is one of the most depressing on the albums, i just sit and wonder what happened to my life
this song is beautiful.. he always made the best most flowing melodies.. this one really reminds me of a dream... and he always talked about how a lot of his songs were based on dreams he had.. they werent supposed to mean anything specific... i see that a lot in this song.
fuck yeah
i love how all the replies to the other elliott songs on this website talk about how the songs are about drugs, yet there's only four replies to a song called "strung out again" hmmm....
This is a good song. The line "I saw a rich fuck giving charity" is pretty powerful. Well it struck me as being so. Its ashame he's gone. He made some damn fine music and I would've loved to see him in concert, but the real loss is the artistic one, and judging by what I hear on the radio we won't have someone else this good for a long time. Oh, and I think the song is about someone with low self esteem trying to get the courage to do something but being supressed by the things he sees out there so he falls into a stupor.... This comment is too long.