"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.
Try to understand
I'm not your ordinary man, still I can't deny
You go with me everywhere
When I'm dreamin' you still share my lonely nights
Try to see my side
It's not your ordinary pride that keeps drivin' me on
It's that lonesome, restless feelin' that you feel under the gun
And it leads me to the highways but it keeps my body warm
And as I wander to the cities and the towns
I get so lonesome knowin' you could be around
And when the show is over, there's a holiday motel
Another empty bottle and another tale to tell
Try to comprehend
I'm not your ordinary friend at the end of my life
I would pray that I could be
Returning to the shelter of your love
Try to see my side
It's not your ordinary pride that keeps drivin' me on
It's that lonesome, restless feelin' that you feel under the gun
And it leads me to the highways but it keeps my body warm
And as I wander to the cities and the towns
I get so lonesome knowin' you could be around
And when the show is over, there's a holiday motel
Another empty bottle and another tale to tell
Try to understand
I'm not your ordinary man, still I can't deny
You go with me everywhere
Like a shadow in the gloom
I remember all the good times
There's a ghost in every room
I'm not your ordinary man, still I can't deny
You go with me everywhere
When I'm dreamin' you still share my lonely nights
Try to see my side
It's not your ordinary pride that keeps drivin' me on
It's that lonesome, restless feelin' that you feel under the gun
And it leads me to the highways but it keeps my body warm
And as I wander to the cities and the towns
I get so lonesome knowin' you could be around
And when the show is over, there's a holiday motel
Another empty bottle and another tale to tell
Try to comprehend
I'm not your ordinary friend at the end of my life
I would pray that I could be
Returning to the shelter of your love
Try to see my side
It's not your ordinary pride that keeps drivin' me on
It's that lonesome, restless feelin' that you feel under the gun
And it leads me to the highways but it keeps my body warm
And as I wander to the cities and the towns
I get so lonesome knowin' you could be around
And when the show is over, there's a holiday motel
Another empty bottle and another tale to tell
Try to understand
I'm not your ordinary man, still I can't deny
You go with me everywhere
Like a shadow in the gloom
I remember all the good times
There's a ghost in every room
Lyrics submitted by PopeyeDoyle
Ordinary Man Lyrics as written by Gordon Lightfoot
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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”
Holiday
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
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.
Punchline
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Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Plastic Bag
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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.
That part about the "show" indicates that it's about his life as an entertainer. And the "ordinary man" seems to be what most would be inclined to think Gord isn't
This song makes me think of highway patrol and the belief some people have that a good policeman is a rare breed... not your ordinary man. It's not pride that drives you on, but a lonesome restless feeling that you feel under the gun, and it leads you to the highway but it keeps your body warm. See what I mean?
Gordon Lightfoots reacurring theme of just a blue and meloncholy feeling is in this song... just as it is in most of his songs. Praying to return to the shelter of someones love at the end of his life. The strongest imagery is at the end: "You go with me everywhere. Like a shadow in the gloom. I remember all the good times, theres a ghost in every room." I don't think an author could write down feelings as eloquently as Gordon does in this song. My favorite gordon lightfoot song.
Gordy's telling us he's one of the few that's damned by restlesness.
To me, it's a love song. I see it as a message to a distant woman.