"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.
Merely the sound of your voice
Made me believe that, that you were her
Just like the river disturbs
my inner peace
One I believed I could find
Just a trace of her beloved soul
Once I believed she was all
Then she smothered my beliefs
One cold winter's night
I may follow her voice to the river
Leave me for now and forever
Leave while you can
Somewhere in time
I will find you and haunt you again
Like the wind sweeps the earth
Somewhere in time
When no virtues are left to defend
You fall in deep
I was a liar in every debate
I rule the forces that fueled your hate
When the cold in my heart leaves
It comes to an end
And quietly I'll go to sleep
How could that first time recur
When memories linger on and on
What made me think you were her
Helena is dead to all, dead to all
Nothing can bring her to life
Don't pretend that I'll be loving you
Once I believed she was gone
I'm corrupted from within
Leave, leave me for now and forever
Leave while you can
Somewhere in time
I will find you and haunt you again
Like the wind sweeps the earth
Somewhere in time
When no virtues are left to defend
You fall in deep
I was a liar in every debate
I rule the forces that fueled your hate
When the cold in my heart leaves
It comes to an end
And quietly I'll go to sleep
Follow me into the light
(Like ice on a lake of tears
I'll take you through)
Leave me tonight
I've gone too far to begin all anew
(Life fades in)
With someone like you
Somewhere in time
I will find you and love you again
Like the wind sweeps the earth
Somewhere in time
When no virtues are left to defend
You fall in deep
I was a liar in every debate
I rule the forces that fueled your hate
When the cold in my heart leaves
It comes to an end
And quietly I'll go to sleep
Sleep
Made me believe that, that you were her
Just like the river disturbs
my inner peace
One I believed I could find
Just a trace of her beloved soul
Once I believed she was all
Then she smothered my beliefs
One cold winter's night
I may follow her voice to the river
Leave me for now and forever
Leave while you can
Somewhere in time
I will find you and haunt you again
Like the wind sweeps the earth
Somewhere in time
When no virtues are left to defend
You fall in deep
I was a liar in every debate
I rule the forces that fueled your hate
When the cold in my heart leaves
It comes to an end
And quietly I'll go to sleep
How could that first time recur
When memories linger on and on
What made me think you were her
Helena is dead to all, dead to all
Nothing can bring her to life
Don't pretend that I'll be loving you
Once I believed she was gone
I'm corrupted from within
Leave, leave me for now and forever
Leave while you can
Somewhere in time
I will find you and haunt you again
Like the wind sweeps the earth
Somewhere in time
When no virtues are left to defend
You fall in deep
I was a liar in every debate
I rule the forces that fueled your hate
When the cold in my heart leaves
It comes to an end
And quietly I'll go to sleep
Follow me into the light
(Like ice on a lake of tears
I'll take you through)
Leave me tonight
I've gone too far to begin all anew
(Life fades in)
With someone like you
Somewhere in time
I will find you and love you again
Like the wind sweeps the earth
Somewhere in time
When no virtues are left to defend
You fall in deep
I was a liar in every debate
I rule the forces that fueled your hate
When the cold in my heart leaves
It comes to an end
And quietly I'll go to sleep
Sleep
Lyrics submitted by Arctica
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Little Feat
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Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Mountain Song
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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."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
No Surprises
Radiohead
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Page
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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.
Simone is credited as playing someone named Margaritte, who in this song is supposed to look and sound just like Helena.
It's almost as if she's a ploy by Mephisto to try to tempt him with a look alike, but he keeps remembering Helena.
Mari (Mari Youngblood, wife of the lead guitarist) plays Helena on boht albums.