"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.
Promises, oh promises, where are you hiding yourselves
In the heart of some pretentious love that is better off alone?
For several weeks I've known this is my last chance to whisper
Some nonsense sentence of mild repentance
For the things we all carry around
Coffee grounds, a cold sore in April
Your hair in my mouth
It was all requested
The bedroom eyes of a fallen angel
Make for a clouded mind
But how long did you know
That someday you'd pack up
And push off gently with a photograph, a cold memory
And a letter that I didn't deserve?
On the first line, it said wait and see
And so I toppled to the floor
Then the next time, you said wait and see
And now I carry this around
Tasting this complex device of the sounds that you make
They were quite the anthem
To correct a borrowed drama
And a head full of nothing but a wound-tight ego
A flowery speech it's not
This is my last chance to whisper
Some boring line about frozen time
And the things we all carry around
On the first line, it said wait and see
And so I toppled to the floor
Then the next time, you said wait and see
And I pulled my hair out from its roots
On the downside, this was all my fault
I know I chose the long road again
But on the flip-side, there's a wait and see
And now I carry this around
On the first line, it said wait and see
And so I toppled to the floor
Then the next time, you said wait and see
And I pulled my hair out from its roots
On the downside, this was all my fault
I know I chose the long road again
But on the flip-side, there's a wait and see
And now I carry this around
In the heart of some pretentious love that is better off alone?
For several weeks I've known this is my last chance to whisper
Some nonsense sentence of mild repentance
For the things we all carry around
Coffee grounds, a cold sore in April
Your hair in my mouth
It was all requested
The bedroom eyes of a fallen angel
Make for a clouded mind
But how long did you know
That someday you'd pack up
And push off gently with a photograph, a cold memory
And a letter that I didn't deserve?
On the first line, it said wait and see
And so I toppled to the floor
Then the next time, you said wait and see
And now I carry this around
Tasting this complex device of the sounds that you make
They were quite the anthem
To correct a borrowed drama
And a head full of nothing but a wound-tight ego
A flowery speech it's not
This is my last chance to whisper
Some boring line about frozen time
And the things we all carry around
On the first line, it said wait and see
And so I toppled to the floor
Then the next time, you said wait and see
And I pulled my hair out from its roots
On the downside, this was all my fault
I know I chose the long road again
But on the flip-side, there's a wait and see
And now I carry this around
On the first line, it said wait and see
And so I toppled to the floor
Then the next time, you said wait and see
And I pulled my hair out from its roots
On the downside, this was all my fault
I know I chose the long road again
But on the flip-side, there's a wait and see
And now I carry this around
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
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.
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
OMGSHSHHHHHHHH
OMGSHSHHHHHHHH
Oops, my bad guys, I didn't mean to post that twice, let alone post it at all. But seriously, this song is so good. If you haven't heard it you can listen to it on their purevolume. purevolume.com/lydia You just might like it.