"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.
Most of my fantasies are of
making someone else come.
Most of my fantasies are of
to be of use—
to be of some hard,
simple
undeniable use.
Like a spindle.
Like a candle.
Like a horseshoe.
Like a corkscrew.
To be of use;
to be of use.
Most of my fantasies are of
making someone else come.
On a horse
over palms laid
on the threshold
of the coming day.
Coming day;
coming day come.
making someone else come.
Most of my fantasies are of
to be of use—
to be of some hard,
simple
undeniable use.
Like a spindle.
Like a candle.
Like a horseshoe.
Like a corkscrew.
To be of use;
to be of use.
Most of my fantasies are of
making someone else come.
On a horse
over palms laid
on the threshold
of the coming day.
Coming day;
coming day come.
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Fast Car
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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”
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
For the first time in my life, I think we were created to be incongruent and unique-shaped. This song sounds disappointed.
I disagree that it should read "cum" rather than "come" because I think it's wordplay, and doesn't just mean cumming in a strictly sexual sense. It's meant to describe fantasies of not only making someone cum and giving that person pleasure, but also a desire for someone to come to them out of a need for their use. The word "coming" is used again in the last lines, probably as both an adjective and a noun (as in both 'approaching' and 'an arrival'): a longing for a future time when these fantasies of usefulness become reality.
Also, in response to the last comment (by baldin), I know music means different things to different people, etc etc, but there is nothing in these lyrics suggesting a rejection, or even a questioning of art. What I love about this song (besides its being simply fucking amazing) is that it's not trying to be anything more than what it is. There are no grand proclamations or imputations. It's just a beautifully simple song about the need to be needed. Maybe he had his art and artist self in mind when he wrote it, but who knows? One doesn't have to be a talented artist to long for a common purpose in life.
If the song is questioning anything, it's the outdated idea of knights arriving in shining armor ("Making someone else come / On a horse") and sweeping the damsel in distress of her feet and carrying her off into marital bliss ("On a threshold").
God this is such a good song. Good job, Bill. A+
This song is so good
I love how the symbols go from straight, wooden and phallic to curly and metallic
I'd say cum, not come. That hits a chord with me, although I think men feel that more strongly--they like to have a mirror for their virility and their ability to please, to affirm themselves. Callahan's take on this idea is sadder, just wishing that he had some purpose. But... "on a horse". That's interesting.
poor guy...your life has to be pretty bad to wish to be a corkscrew...i know how he feels
"For the first time in my life, I think we were created to be incongruent and unique-shaped. This song sounds disappointed."
.
"For the first time in my life, I think we were created to be incongruent and unique-shaped. This song sounds disappointed."
.
i see this as bill questioning himself, his art, his music.
sure, he's a genius songwriter. one of the best out there. but i believe what he's saying is that maybe art won't save your life; maybe he doesn't wanna be a genius and create beautiful art, but he just wants to have a purpose, a common, "hard, simple, undeniable use".
like a candle. or in human life, like a farmer, like a fireman, or a doctor. to be of use, simple, undeniable use.
"It's just a beautifully simple song about the need to be needed. Maybe he had his art and artist self in mind when he wrote it, but who knows? One doesn't have to be a talented artist to long for a common purpose in life."
artslut, you nailed it! i guess that's what i tried to say with my comment, but ended up saying too much. i should've said that i have a little (mis)interpretation of my own with these lyrics, that envolves giving up art to take a regular job, but that's mine exclusively, and definitely not what bill had in mind. still, the fact that people can react (and relate) so differently to the same words sure proves how genius and timeless bill's music is. (:
yikes
this is a very powerful song! but I feel like listening to it too much would turn me into a very dejected and dissatisfied person!
you must be very weak-minded and easily impressionable
I don't care if your personal interpreation doesn't fit with mine. <br /> <br /> I hear the song as a cave of needing to be needed. For me, with my supposedly 'weak' mind, this is not a place I feel the need to be in. I have other ideas about use.<br /> <br /> This is a beautiful song and I imagine we agree there. <br /> <br /> Judging so firmly against a faceless username may make you feel better but it won't make you correct.