"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.
Tearin' down a dirt road, rebel flag flyin',
'Coon dog in the back.
Truck bed loaded down with beer,
An' a cold one in my lap.
Earnhart sticker behind my head,
An' my woman by my side.
Tail-pipe's poppin', the radio's rockin':
"Country Boy Can Survive".
Well, if you got a problem with that,
You can kiss my country ass.
Well, I love Turkey calls, overalls,
Wrangler jeans: smoke nothin' but Marlboro reds.
Tattoos up an' down my arms,
An' deer heads over my bed.
My Grand-Daddy fought in World War Two,
An' my Daddy went to Vietnam.
An' I ain't scared to grab my gun,
An' fight for my homeland.
If you don't love the American flag,
You can kiss my country ass.
If you're a down home, backwoods redneck,
C'mon, stand up an' raise your glass.
But if you ain't down with my outlaw crowd,
You can kiss my country ass.
Inbstrumental break.
Well, there's a whole lotta high-class people out there,
That's lookin' down on me.
'Cause the country club where I belong,
Is the Honky Tonk till three in the mornin'.
Don't wear no fancy clothes,
No ties or three-piece suits.
You can find me in my camouflage hat,
My tee-shirt an' cowboy boots.
If that don't fit your social class,
You can kiss my country ass.
If you're a down home, backwoods redneck,
Hey, c'mon, stand up an' raise your glass.
But if you ain't down with my outlaw crowd,
You can kiss my country ass.
'Cause I'm a front-porch sittin',
Guitar pickin', moonshine sippin',
Bacca juice spittin' country boy from the woods.
An' I love fried chicken an' blue gill fishin',
An' outlaw women, an' I wouldn't change if I could.
I ain't tryin' to start no fight, but I'll finish one every time.
So you just mind your own damn business,
And stay the hell outta mine.
If you got a problem with that,
You can kiss my country ass.
I said if you got a problem with any of that,
You can kiss my natural born,
Redneck to the bone,
Ever-lovin' country ass.
'Coon dog in the back.
Truck bed loaded down with beer,
An' a cold one in my lap.
Earnhart sticker behind my head,
An' my woman by my side.
Tail-pipe's poppin', the radio's rockin':
"Country Boy Can Survive".
Well, if you got a problem with that,
You can kiss my country ass.
Well, I love Turkey calls, overalls,
Wrangler jeans: smoke nothin' but Marlboro reds.
Tattoos up an' down my arms,
An' deer heads over my bed.
My Grand-Daddy fought in World War Two,
An' my Daddy went to Vietnam.
An' I ain't scared to grab my gun,
An' fight for my homeland.
If you don't love the American flag,
You can kiss my country ass.
If you're a down home, backwoods redneck,
C'mon, stand up an' raise your glass.
But if you ain't down with my outlaw crowd,
You can kiss my country ass.
Inbstrumental break.
Well, there's a whole lotta high-class people out there,
That's lookin' down on me.
'Cause the country club where I belong,
Is the Honky Tonk till three in the mornin'.
Don't wear no fancy clothes,
No ties or three-piece suits.
You can find me in my camouflage hat,
My tee-shirt an' cowboy boots.
If that don't fit your social class,
You can kiss my country ass.
If you're a down home, backwoods redneck,
Hey, c'mon, stand up an' raise your glass.
But if you ain't down with my outlaw crowd,
You can kiss my country ass.
'Cause I'm a front-porch sittin',
Guitar pickin', moonshine sippin',
Bacca juice spittin' country boy from the woods.
An' I love fried chicken an' blue gill fishin',
An' outlaw women, an' I wouldn't change if I could.
I ain't tryin' to start no fight, but I'll finish one every time.
So you just mind your own damn business,
And stay the hell outta mine.
If you got a problem with that,
You can kiss my country ass.
I said if you got a problem with any of that,
You can kiss my natural born,
Redneck to the bone,
Ever-lovin' country ass.
Lyrics submitted by gabod7
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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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.
Punchline
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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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
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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.
this is an awesome song i can relate
Great song