"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.
Yeah,
It’s so hard to remain authentic
Everything around me is changing,
Even the earth is moving in 2 different places in outer space
But..
One thing remains the same..
till the end of time
I think I’ll remain,
I think I’ll just stay…
A B-Boy standin in my B-Boy stance (x8)
From the top of the highest summit, again we run it.
A hundred and forty four shimmering lights stunnin
to quick for the human eye to catch a glimpse
You know pimps cannot convince with bigger attempts of emcee’in,
blowing word to the wind,
While we conscend to limit the sins and pretend
We’re still human, when if fact were only half, the other path extends infinity do the math
I try to laugh, but they pull me down like crabs in a bucket
With hands in my pocket, I don’t really laugh
Heaven only knows, the ???? keeps invading the flows that turns black pros
To white foes… Your just supposin have you heard my words moving at light speed and getting blurred. It’s all so incredible decibles at glance standing in a b-stance
This one leads the way…
Now cut it up, cut it up back to back, on the wheels of steel, cut it up back to back
Elevate, Meditate, eliminate-thoughts from my past keep knocking upon my gate
Shouldn’t let em in, the answers not to debate
But to observe the debating and then we can understate
Yo party people listen up at the drop of dime,
They took cameras to africa for pictures to rhyme
Over old.. yes, the great pretenders
Religeous entertainers who want to be life savers
Damn.. another dollar for the mind, another cold ??? hoping
They can’t find, they can’t copy or get pictures with no lines,
I guess it’s just a case of the blind leading the blind
But, I’m flippin and steppin and rockin the roll, take the control
Payin my tolls, whose in control?
I’m playin a roll so people will remember that
I’m just a servent of rap, hopin to bring it back
It’s so hard to remain authentic
Everything around me is changing,
Even the earth is moving in 2 different places in outer space
But..
One thing remains the same..
till the end of time
I think I’ll remain,
I think I’ll just stay…
A B-Boy standin in my B-Boy stance (x8)
From the top of the highest summit, again we run it.
A hundred and forty four shimmering lights stunnin
to quick for the human eye to catch a glimpse
You know pimps cannot convince with bigger attempts of emcee’in,
blowing word to the wind,
While we conscend to limit the sins and pretend
We’re still human, when if fact were only half, the other path extends infinity do the math
I try to laugh, but they pull me down like crabs in a bucket
With hands in my pocket, I don’t really laugh
Heaven only knows, the ???? keeps invading the flows that turns black pros
To white foes… Your just supposin have you heard my words moving at light speed and getting blurred. It’s all so incredible decibles at glance standing in a b-stance
This one leads the way…
Now cut it up, cut it up back to back, on the wheels of steel, cut it up back to back
Elevate, Meditate, eliminate-thoughts from my past keep knocking upon my gate
Shouldn’t let em in, the answers not to debate
But to observe the debating and then we can understate
Yo party people listen up at the drop of dime,
They took cameras to africa for pictures to rhyme
Over old.. yes, the great pretenders
Religeous entertainers who want to be life savers
Damn.. another dollar for the mind, another cold ??? hoping
They can’t find, they can’t copy or get pictures with no lines,
I guess it’s just a case of the blind leading the blind
But, I’m flippin and steppin and rockin the roll, take the control
Payin my tolls, whose in control?
I’m playin a roll so people will remember that
I’m just a servent of rap, hopin to bring it back
Lyrics submitted by Polish91
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Fast Car
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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.
I Can't Go To Sleep
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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.
"They took cameras to africa for pictures to rhyme Over old.. yes, the great pretenders Religeous entertainers who want to be life savers"
Is apparently about Somali-Canadian rapper K'naan, who flew to Africa to film his first video "Soobax". Shame really, I don't see what he did to deserve being berated.
He didn't do anything. My guess would be that K-OS was trying to pick a fight with him solely because feuds between rappers were stylish at the time and good for publicity. lol Seriously. K-OS' music took a nose dive after this album for me. I still liked Hymns for Atlantis for many of the songs, but mostly for the sound and less for the lyrics. Lyrically he's repetitive and most of the time he's just throwing a bunch of words around without actually saying anything. It's sort of disappointing because this album was so excellent. :(
That's just my opinion anyway. lol