"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.
Oh, please don't send me out
Said the man with the hammer, hammering the anvil
I been walking on a road of rocks
And I keep on hammering, keep on hammering, keep on hammering
Hammering the anvil
Don't let the sun go down
Said the man with the fire, firing the furnace
I've been buried in the snow
And I keep on firing, keep on firing, keep on firing
Firing the furnace
Oh, don't talk to me
Said the man with the chisel, chiseling the surface
I been sleeping far too long
And I keep on chiseling, keep on chiseling, keep on chiseling
Chiseling the surface
I don't know what you mean
Said the man with the shovel, shoveling the ashes
I been digging in the frozen ground
And I keep on shoveling, keep on shoveling, keep on shoveling
Shoveling the ashes
Chiseling the surface
Firing the furnace
Hammering the anvil
Hammering the anvil
Firing the furnace
Chiseling the surface
Shoveling the ashes
Hammering the anvil
Hammering the anvil
Oh, don't send me out
Yeah, hammering the anvil
Yeah, hammering the anvil
(Don't talk to me)
(I don't know what you mean) hammering the anvil
Shoveling the ashes
(I don't know what you mean)
Chiseling the surface (oh, don't send me out)
Firing the furnace (don't let the sun go down)
Chiseling the surface (oh, don't talk to me)
Hammering the anvil (oh, don't talk to me)
Oh, hammering the anvil (I don't know what you mean)
Oh, hammering the anvil (I don't know what you mean)
Shoveling the surface (oh, don't send me out)
Hammering the furnace (don't let the sun go down)
Hammering the anvil (oh, don't let the sun go down)
Yeah, hammering the anvil (oh, don't send me out)
Yeah, hammering the anvil (oh, please don't send me out)
Oh, hammering the anvil (don't send me out)
Yeah, hammering the anvil (don't talk to me)
Yeah, hammering the anvil (don't talk to me)
Said the man with the hammer, hammering the anvil
I been walking on a road of rocks
And I keep on hammering, keep on hammering, keep on hammering
Hammering the anvil
Don't let the sun go down
Said the man with the fire, firing the furnace
I've been buried in the snow
And I keep on firing, keep on firing, keep on firing
Firing the furnace
Oh, don't talk to me
Said the man with the chisel, chiseling the surface
I been sleeping far too long
And I keep on chiseling, keep on chiseling, keep on chiseling
Chiseling the surface
I don't know what you mean
Said the man with the shovel, shoveling the ashes
I been digging in the frozen ground
And I keep on shoveling, keep on shoveling, keep on shoveling
Shoveling the ashes
Chiseling the surface
Firing the furnace
Hammering the anvil
Hammering the anvil
Firing the furnace
Chiseling the surface
Shoveling the ashes
Hammering the anvil
Hammering the anvil
Oh, don't send me out
Yeah, hammering the anvil
Yeah, hammering the anvil
(Don't talk to me)
(I don't know what you mean) hammering the anvil
Shoveling the ashes
(I don't know what you mean)
Chiseling the surface (oh, don't send me out)
Firing the furnace (don't let the sun go down)
Chiseling the surface (oh, don't talk to me)
Hammering the anvil (oh, don't talk to me)
Oh, hammering the anvil (I don't know what you mean)
Oh, hammering the anvil (I don't know what you mean)
Shoveling the surface (oh, don't send me out)
Hammering the furnace (don't let the sun go down)
Hammering the anvil (oh, don't let the sun go down)
Yeah, hammering the anvil (oh, don't send me out)
Yeah, hammering the anvil (oh, please don't send me out)
Oh, hammering the anvil (don't send me out)
Yeah, hammering the anvil (don't talk to me)
Yeah, hammering the anvil (don't talk to me)
Lyrics submitted by Dressed2Depress
The Hammer Song [Kicking Against The Pricks] Lyrics as written by Alex Harvey
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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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.
These are completely the wrong lyrics, this is the song of the same name by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Correct lyrics: I set out on monday The night was cold and vast And my brother slept
And though I left quite quietly My father raged and raged And my mother wept
Now, my life was like a river All sucked into the ground And then the hammer came down Lord, the hammer came down
Many miles did I roam Through the ice and through the snow My horse died on the seventh day
I stumbled into a city Where the people tried to kill me And I ran in shame
Then I came upon a river And I laid my saddle down And then the hammer came down Lord, the hammer came down It knocked me to the ground And I said, "Please, please Take me back to my home town" Lord, the hammer came down
Now I've been made weak by visions Many visions did I see All through the night
On the seventh hour an angel came With many snakes in all his hands And I fled in fright
I pushed off into the river And the water came around And then the hammer came down Lord, the hammer came down And it did not make a sound And I said, "Please, please Take me back to my home ground" Lord, the hammer came down
You're confusing it with The Good Son's "The Hammer Song." This is a cover of Alex Harvey's "The Hammer Song" in Kicking Against The Pricks.
I can't say that I really understand what this song is about (if someone does, I would be grateful for a hint), but it certainly has some similarities with "Papa won't leave you Henry", that came on the next album...
Similar theme to Sorrow's Child? The hammer, the child - both references to depression?