"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.
House comes alive, creaks and greets me
The house comes alive and it’s hungry
The greedy gills will primp just like some whore
At the bris, at the wedding, at the funeral
My ghost will haunt your house, your dollhouse
‘Cause what do they know, what do they know?
My inky hands will stain your blouse, the good blouse
What do they know, what do they know?
I want a man who splays down in the street
The swinging bodies and the children in the wet concrete
Sick sexual, another thimble full
I plan to haunt your house, you’ll move out
‘Cause what do they know, what do they know?
I’m a poltergeist, here for life, she sighs
‘Cause what do you know, what do you know?
What’s this I hear, about you wanting out
Well what do they know, what do they know
I hear you were the life of the party
You know what do they know
We’ll get you in the end
I want a man who splays down in the street
The swinging bodies and the children in the wet concrete
In the house with the laughing windows
We’re spilling blood like a cheap innuendo
I love you, do you love me?
Let’s set our hair on fire
Let’s twist our bodies down over coals
Let’s give them something they can’t ignore
I love you, do you love me?
Let’s set our house on fire
Let’s cast a mirror right back at fear
Let’s show this world we were here
The house comes alive and it’s hungry
The greedy gills will primp just like some whore
At the bris, at the wedding, at the funeral
My ghost will haunt your house, your dollhouse
‘Cause what do they know, what do they know?
My inky hands will stain your blouse, the good blouse
What do they know, what do they know?
I want a man who splays down in the street
The swinging bodies and the children in the wet concrete
Sick sexual, another thimble full
I plan to haunt your house, you’ll move out
‘Cause what do they know, what do they know?
I’m a poltergeist, here for life, she sighs
‘Cause what do you know, what do you know?
What’s this I hear, about you wanting out
Well what do they know, what do they know
I hear you were the life of the party
You know what do they know
We’ll get you in the end
I want a man who splays down in the street
The swinging bodies and the children in the wet concrete
In the house with the laughing windows
We’re spilling blood like a cheap innuendo
I love you, do you love me?
Let’s set our hair on fire
Let’s twist our bodies down over coals
Let’s give them something they can’t ignore
I love you, do you love me?
Let’s set our house on fire
Let’s cast a mirror right back at fear
Let’s show this world we were here
Lyrics submitted by oniontears, edited by intertropicalconvergencezone
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Amazing
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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
this song reminds me of the book "house of leaves".
It reminds me of the movie Monster House
I thought the same thing! Glad I'm not alone!
They use a lot of House of Leaves imagery in this album. <br /> I love the last verse, and then that triumphant march that descends into chaos before ending abruptly...
"The House Is Alive..." ends the album, and the last words of the song are key to understanding the implicit humor of the pAper chAse: "let's cast a mirror right back at fear/let's show this world we were here."
Throughout the album, ghosts are described in all their bizarre glory; spirits vow vengeance against child abusers, curse the Almighty, and tell parents that their kids suck, all the while taunting we the living with rattling chains and operatic moaning. Yet to fully understand Now You Are One of Us, it takes multiple listenings and the realization that John Congelton is only trying encourage listeners to gain power over fear.
In this song, the ghost narrator wants to haunt a specific target: a perverted "sick sexual" serial killer, who embodies all that is wrong with society. But, as with all pAper chAse songs, it is not necessarily meant to taken literally. Instead, Congelton is "casting a mirror right back at fear," summing up any and all earthly worries, and saying "don't be afraid." It's brilliant satire, but the real brilliance is how this band uses ghosts and the fear of death to affirm life.