"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.
Betrayal is always sad
Needless to say what you could have had
Of course you have it still
But based on a lie that you always will
Repeat till it clings true
I've been lied to by the likes of you
From that point of view
I get the privilege to enlighten you
On what I'm doing to help her
She needs some shelter
And if you've felt her loyalty what can you do?
Will you keep this up,
As long as you can if I don't make it stop?
I don't have a clue
Of what you are about to do
Would you fool me too?
I've been lied to by the likes of you
From that point of view
I get the privilege to enlighten you
On what I'm doing to help her
She needs some shelter
And if you've felt her loyalty what can you do?
I'm trying to help her
She needs some shelter
And if you've felt her loyalty what can you do?
Needless to say what you could have had
Of course you have it still
But based on a lie that you always will
Repeat till it clings true
I've been lied to by the likes of you
From that point of view
I get the privilege to enlighten you
On what I'm doing to help her
She needs some shelter
And if you've felt her loyalty what can you do?
Will you keep this up,
As long as you can if I don't make it stop?
I don't have a clue
Of what you are about to do
Would you fool me too?
I've been lied to by the likes of you
From that point of view
I get the privilege to enlighten you
On what I'm doing to help her
She needs some shelter
And if you've felt her loyalty what can you do?
I'm trying to help her
She needs some shelter
And if you've felt her loyalty what can you do?
Lyrics submitted by petgrief
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Fast Car
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Mountain Song
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"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
I Can't Go To Sleep
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Amazing
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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.
i think this song is about the new boyfriend of a girl talking to the her old boyfriend, who has realised that maybe he still has feelings for her, and it's coming in between the new relationship. absolutely beautiful. "and if you've felt her loyalty, what can you do?" -> i love this line, because it's not denying the past, but recognizing the helplessness of trying to move on.
Genius. The Radio Dept. lyrics are always so sincere and beautiful.
I believe it's about a male friend who is trying to protect his female best friend from her boyfriend. He knows the truth, he's caught him cheating on her. The boyfriend is trying to defend himself and try to paint a different picture, trying to explain himself by saying nothing happened. "But based on a lie that you always will/Repeat till it clings true" the man is telling him, keep saying that lie and you'll end up believing it. He'll end up believing he never did anything wrong.
"Will you keep this up/As long as you can if I don't make it stop?" The boyfriend will continue to cheat, until the friend finally confesses to his best friend about him.
Either that, or the male is in love with another male, but it just so happens to be his female best friend's boyfriend and he's trying to be loyal.
The best line throughout the whole song, "From that point of view/I get the privilege to enlighten you."
mad about the boy, i think you might be spot on.
A lot of The Radio Dept. songs seem to be about being in love with another man. I agree that this song is about that too. I think another way to interpret this is to see it as him being forgotten because of his friends new relationship with someone else and he feels betrayed. The person his friend is in a relationship is evidently not the most suited person for his friend so he wants her to see what he sees. "From that point of view I get the privilege to enlighten you" I think at this point he is moving on because he feels pity for his friend because the friend is missing out for being with someone who doesn't seem to care.
This is my favorite song...
I'm feeling like this is about a deceiver who has ensnared our narrator, and he feels that he is completely justified in getting to judge her and say atrocious things about her because she has proven to have such little worth. He could almost be warning of this cruel person to others, which is why he seems to think that she's not going to change and just keep hurting if she gets the chance. He definitely hates who he's talking about.
Love this song...I'm not sure the meaning of it but maybe the betrayal?