"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.
Children in the playground, laughing and dancing in the street
All the colors of the rainbow, wrapped in childlike harmony
Me, I'm not laughing, I see things only as they were
When I first needed you, yeah, when I first needed you
Cars passing by, representing my life
I ain't old but I ain't young enough to cry like a baby
And I'm so scared but I won't tell you for fear you'll hate me more
Tough on the outside, tough on the outside, yeah, tough all over
Coulds go rollin' by as I lay floatin' in a stream of semi-consciousness
I'll follow it 'til the end or at least 'til I drown in my separate reality
Sorry there's only room for me
I used to have an angel, she took care of everything
Yeah, so sometimes we cried, maybe more than most, but so what
We shared everything, even some things we should not have shared
Like my separate reality, now there's only room for me
I walk among the criminals and I pray among the saints
And somewhere in between I try to scrape off this war paint
It's cold in here in the corner of my soul, so dark and lonely
Oh but I ain't never gonna let go
Children in the playground, laughing and dancing in the street
All the colors of the rainbow, wrapped in childlike harmony
Me, I'm not laughing or dancing, I see things only as they were
When I first needed you, yeah, when I first needed you
I used to have everything, now you won't even talk to me, but that's alright
'Cause I've got a new friend and her name is tattooed across my chest
And she won't let me down, 'cause I ain't never, never gonna let her in
Tough on the outside, tough on the outside, and it's surely tough
In my separate reality, sorry there's only room for me
In my separate reality, sorry there's only room for me, for me
Sorry there's only room for me
All the colors of the rainbow, wrapped in childlike harmony
Me, I'm not laughing, I see things only as they were
When I first needed you, yeah, when I first needed you
Cars passing by, representing my life
I ain't old but I ain't young enough to cry like a baby
And I'm so scared but I won't tell you for fear you'll hate me more
Tough on the outside, tough on the outside, yeah, tough all over
Coulds go rollin' by as I lay floatin' in a stream of semi-consciousness
I'll follow it 'til the end or at least 'til I drown in my separate reality
Sorry there's only room for me
I used to have an angel, she took care of everything
Yeah, so sometimes we cried, maybe more than most, but so what
We shared everything, even some things we should not have shared
Like my separate reality, now there's only room for me
I walk among the criminals and I pray among the saints
And somewhere in between I try to scrape off this war paint
It's cold in here in the corner of my soul, so dark and lonely
Oh but I ain't never gonna let go
Children in the playground, laughing and dancing in the street
All the colors of the rainbow, wrapped in childlike harmony
Me, I'm not laughing or dancing, I see things only as they were
When I first needed you, yeah, when I first needed you
I used to have everything, now you won't even talk to me, but that's alright
'Cause I've got a new friend and her name is tattooed across my chest
And she won't let me down, 'cause I ain't never, never gonna let her in
Tough on the outside, tough on the outside, and it's surely tough
In my separate reality, sorry there's only room for me
In my separate reality, sorry there's only room for me, for me
Sorry there's only room for me
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Fast Car
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
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Amazing
Ed Sheeran
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Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
If you need an explanation for this song, you just don't understand it. You probably will eventually.