"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.
I know it cuts you inside
Every time that you try
To take a pathway in life
That leaves you so un-obliged
Every promise is lies
Every smile makes you cry
Leaves you so un-alive
So un-alive
I wish I could take the fall
Maybe by that I could solve
The problems we're all having
It's been a while since you've felt like you've been home
Your life's just flesh and bone
Your heart is worth more than you know
The one thing that hurts more than your life
Is to wake up one more time alone
It's to wake up one more time alive
So take us in
We'll stop you dead
We'll show you something you won't ever forget
This life's a road
No place is home
My heart's a hole that needs to
Constantly be filled with love
This time it's all that I've got
Words hit the page like gunshots
My stomach's left in a knot
My pride is left here to rot
It's been a while since I've felt this restless
By definition it's depressing but I'm alright
It kills to wake up one more time alone
It kills to wake up one more time alive
So take us in
We'll stop you dead
We'll show you something you won't ever forget
This life's a road
No place is home
My heart's a hole that needs to
Constantly be filled with love
I know the feeling of being all alone
So let's drink to the fact that we're not
I know the feeling of being all alone
So let's drink to the fact that we're not
So take us in
We'll stop you dead
We'll show you something you won't ever forget
This life's a road
No place is home
My heart's a hole that needs to
Constantly be filled with love
Every time that you try
To take a pathway in life
That leaves you so un-obliged
Every promise is lies
Every smile makes you cry
Leaves you so un-alive
So un-alive
I wish I could take the fall
Maybe by that I could solve
The problems we're all having
It's been a while since you've felt like you've been home
Your life's just flesh and bone
Your heart is worth more than you know
The one thing that hurts more than your life
Is to wake up one more time alone
It's to wake up one more time alive
So take us in
We'll stop you dead
We'll show you something you won't ever forget
This life's a road
No place is home
My heart's a hole that needs to
Constantly be filled with love
This time it's all that I've got
Words hit the page like gunshots
My stomach's left in a knot
My pride is left here to rot
It's been a while since I've felt this restless
By definition it's depressing but I'm alright
It kills to wake up one more time alone
It kills to wake up one more time alive
So take us in
We'll stop you dead
We'll show you something you won't ever forget
This life's a road
No place is home
My heart's a hole that needs to
Constantly be filled with love
I know the feeling of being all alone
So let's drink to the fact that we're not
I know the feeling of being all alone
So let's drink to the fact that we're not
So take us in
We'll stop you dead
We'll show you something you won't ever forget
This life's a road
No place is home
My heart's a hole that needs to
Constantly be filled with love
Lyrics submitted by eltroyo11, edited by Skoobasteve24
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
This has to be one of my favorite songs on this cd. They did an excellent job with this song. Amazing.
i love the lyrics of this song. especially the part that says "my hearts a hole that needs to be constantly filled with love" and the part that says "i know the feeling of being all alone, so lets drink to the fact that we're not" i can totally relate
Lovely lyrics.
=)
I see this as they are talking to someone who doesn't know Christ as their lord and savior. They are trying to led him to Christ.
Here, "So take us in... we'll show you something you won't ever forget." I think they are saying just listen to them and they'll show you Christ. With the "This life's a road, no place is home" I think they are talking about how life is unexpected, and that nothing earthly will make you happy or solve the problems life presents, cuz you'll just continue wanting more. "My heart's a hole that needs to constantly be filled with love" is saying that their heart needs Jesus, cuz he is everlasting love that won't ever stop, so he will continually fill their heart with love.
We are all born with a damaged soul because of Adam and Eve's sin. And we all are trying to fill that hole in our hearts, in our lives. Some fill it with family, your wife/husband or teenage sweet hearts, drugs, booze, porn, etc. But all those things wont fill it and when they fail your broken. But God, Jesus is the solution to that hole in your heart and he will constantly fill that hole with love (the Holy Spirit).
I think this song is not overtly about God or Christ, but it may be referencing accepting a family of people who can relate to what you feel which could definitely apply to a religious group.
Basically I feel like this song is the heart of the To Write Love on Her Arms movement (myspace.com/towriteloveonherarms).
The speaker is talking to someone who is struggling with depression, and thoughts of suicide (It's been a while since you've felt like you've been home/Your life's just flesh and bone ...The one thing that hurts more than your life/Is to wake up one more time alone/It's to wake up one more time alive). Basically he's saying, "Yeah it hurts like hell to wake up and have to live through a day of this again, I know--I feel it too... But, at least we're suffering through this together" (I know the feeling of being alone/So let's drink to the fact that we're not).
The second part of the song is offering ways to cope (So take us in, we'll stop you dead/ We'll show you something you won't ever forget). This could be either talking about drugs, or a community. I think really it easily could be a good, wholesome community like a church of support group, or a drug culture. The reason I say that is because he follows is with (my heart's a hole that needs to constantly be filled with love). He doesn't offer a permanent solution, he just says, "I know the solution is love," but he leaves it up to the person to decide where to get that love.
He also offers artistic expression as an outlet for restless feelings of this nature (This time it's all that I've got Words hit the page like gunshots My stomach's left in a knot My pride is left here to rot It's been a while since I've felt this restless By definition it's depressing but I'm alright)
The overall message of this song I think is just to convince the person that they are not alone, and that someone understands how they feel--which are two of the main reasons people commit suicide: feeling alone and misunderstood in their depression. It has the feel of an intervention by someone just as confused as the listener, but asking the person to hold on at at least explore their options before making a final decision.