"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.
Careful when you open
It's easy to be broken
In the strangest fashion
You start a chain reaction
When you look my way
Somethings bound in a way
And I wonder if I ever felt this before
And all this time it was staring me blind
I can't believe i've never noticed my heart before
You are reaching something that is beating
I can't believe i've never noticed my heart before
Over and again they sink out of my skin
I can't believe i've never noticed my heart before
At least it was never so obvious as
Now or never
You put me back together
In the perfect fashion
Just watch my hearts reaction
This part of you is nothing that I'm used to
But I wont close my eyes cause they're onto you
And all this time it was staring me blind
I can't believe i've never noticed my heart before
The only time I noticed my heart is when I noticed you did, you did
It's easy to be broken
In the strangest fashion
You start a chain reaction
When you look my way
Somethings bound in a way
And I wonder if I ever felt this before
And all this time it was staring me blind
I can't believe i've never noticed my heart before
You are reaching something that is beating
I can't believe i've never noticed my heart before
Over and again they sink out of my skin
I can't believe i've never noticed my heart before
At least it was never so obvious as
Now or never
You put me back together
In the perfect fashion
Just watch my hearts reaction
This part of you is nothing that I'm used to
But I wont close my eyes cause they're onto you
And all this time it was staring me blind
I can't believe i've never noticed my heart before
The only time I noticed my heart is when I noticed you did, you did
Lyrics submitted by ADimeADexter
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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”
Holiday
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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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
those are nothing like the song...