"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.
And still there are words left unspoken
I’m tired of reliving goodbyes
The sun and its fears have dried up the tears
I haven’t seen you for awhile
And all that I’ve come to believe in
Are fading from me now somehow
The world takes it toll by claiming the souls
Of people it finds disavowed
And I swear if I could reach you
Clear the sadness trails in your eyes
All the loneliness, dead-end avenues
Strand us here, Utterly
Worlds apart
There’s a tao that remains unbroken
There are temples of faith in the air
Though unexplained there are still remains
Of whispered and sanctified prayers
Tonight I will coddle your sorrows
In dream I will cradle your heart
To stand up a fight for all of your plights
This time I will never depart
And I swear if I could reach you
Clear the sadness trails in your eyes
All the loneliness dead-end avenues
Strand us here, Utterly,
Worlds apart
Every midnight chill calls me to you
Running or standing still, I’m searching for what’s true
Eternity’s still a word that makes everything absurd
Despite what you’ve always heard it’s time to break away
Every midnight chill calls me to you
Running or standing still I’m searching what’s true
Eternity’s still a word that makes everything absurd
Despite what you’ve always heard, it’s time to steal away
And I swear if I could reach you
Clear the sadness trails in your eyes
All the loneliness dead-end avenues
Strand us here, utterly
worlds apart if I could reach you
Clear the sadness trails in your eyes
All the loneliness dead-end avenues
Strand us here, utterly
Strand us here, utterly
Strand us here, utterly
Worlds apart
I’m tired of reliving goodbyes
The sun and its fears have dried up the tears
I haven’t seen you for awhile
And all that I’ve come to believe in
Are fading from me now somehow
The world takes it toll by claiming the souls
Of people it finds disavowed
And I swear if I could reach you
Clear the sadness trails in your eyes
All the loneliness, dead-end avenues
Strand us here, Utterly
Worlds apart
There’s a tao that remains unbroken
There are temples of faith in the air
Though unexplained there are still remains
Of whispered and sanctified prayers
Tonight I will coddle your sorrows
In dream I will cradle your heart
To stand up a fight for all of your plights
This time I will never depart
And I swear if I could reach you
Clear the sadness trails in your eyes
All the loneliness dead-end avenues
Strand us here, Utterly,
Worlds apart
Every midnight chill calls me to you
Running or standing still, I’m searching for what’s true
Eternity’s still a word that makes everything absurd
Despite what you’ve always heard it’s time to break away
Every midnight chill calls me to you
Running or standing still I’m searching what’s true
Eternity’s still a word that makes everything absurd
Despite what you’ve always heard, it’s time to steal away
And I swear if I could reach you
Clear the sadness trails in your eyes
All the loneliness dead-end avenues
Strand us here, utterly
worlds apart if I could reach you
Clear the sadness trails in your eyes
All the loneliness dead-end avenues
Strand us here, utterly
Strand us here, utterly
Strand us here, utterly
Worlds apart
Lyrics submitted by stattica
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Dreamwalker
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No Surprises
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Punchline
Ed Sheeran
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Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.