"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.
This day we dance away through our obsession
Cut away the pain with surgical precision
A static flash to burn your minds eye
Emotionless in doubt
Now you don't ever have to feel anything anymore
Anything anymore
As the skeleton dance, for another chance
Another day alone with our perversions
To eat away ourselves is our religion
If you get me high I'll be right where you are
Just like everybody else, aching for a better view
Here and now we'll scream for more
We can make this so much more
Kill the body and the head'll thrive along
Kill the body and the head'll lead you on
All the coward souls in this place we live
Reside me to wonder if this is really where we all belong
Skeletons dream of touch this close
Curiosity pushes the nail deeper
Fingertips dream of touch this close
Curiosity pushes the nail deeper
Here and now we'll scream for more
We can make this so much more
Kill the body and the head'll thrive along
Kill the body and the head'll lead you on
As the skeleton dance
Cut away the pain with surgical precision
A static flash to burn your minds eye
Emotionless in doubt
Now you don't ever have to feel anything anymore
Anything anymore
As the skeleton dance, for another chance
Another day alone with our perversions
To eat away ourselves is our religion
If you get me high I'll be right where you are
Just like everybody else, aching for a better view
Here and now we'll scream for more
We can make this so much more
Kill the body and the head'll thrive along
Kill the body and the head'll lead you on
All the coward souls in this place we live
Reside me to wonder if this is really where we all belong
Skeletons dream of touch this close
Curiosity pushes the nail deeper
Fingertips dream of touch this close
Curiosity pushes the nail deeper
Here and now we'll scream for more
We can make this so much more
Kill the body and the head'll thrive along
Kill the body and the head'll lead you on
As the skeleton dance
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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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.
Magical
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Blue
Ed Sheeran
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“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
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“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.
Well i know S.O. aren't straight edgers or anything.. but i think this song is about how cowardly it is to excessively use drugs as a means of solving something?? or just being fucked up all of the time.. doesn't bode well for anyone. that's what i gather.