"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.
Sister cries out from her baby bed
Brother runs in feathers on his head
Momma's in her room learning how to sew
Daddy's drinking beer, listening to the radio
Hank Williams sings "Kaw Liga" and "Dear John"
And time marches on, time marches on
Sister's using rouge and clear complexion soap
Brother's wearing beads and he smokes a lot of dope
Momma is depressed, barely makes a sound
Daddy's got a girlfriend in another town
Bob Dylan sings "Like a Rolling Stone"
And time marches on, time marches on
The south moves north, the north moves south
A star is born, a star burns out
The only thing that stays the same is
Everything changes, everything changes
Sister calls herself a "Sexy Grandma"
Brother's on a diet for high cholesterol
Momma's out of touch with reality
Daddy's in the ground beneath a maple tree
As the angels sing an old Hank Williams song
Time marches on, time marches on
Time marches on, time marches on
Time marches on, time marches on
Brother runs in feathers on his head
Momma's in her room learning how to sew
Daddy's drinking beer, listening to the radio
Hank Williams sings "Kaw Liga" and "Dear John"
And time marches on, time marches on
Sister's using rouge and clear complexion soap
Brother's wearing beads and he smokes a lot of dope
Momma is depressed, barely makes a sound
Daddy's got a girlfriend in another town
Bob Dylan sings "Like a Rolling Stone"
And time marches on, time marches on
The south moves north, the north moves south
A star is born, a star burns out
The only thing that stays the same is
Everything changes, everything changes
Sister calls herself a "Sexy Grandma"
Brother's on a diet for high cholesterol
Momma's out of touch with reality
Daddy's in the ground beneath a maple tree
As the angels sing an old Hank Williams song
Time marches on, time marches on
Time marches on, time marches on
Time marches on, time marches on
Lyrics submitted by eric_jr2005, edited by rapsodie
Time Marches On Lyrics as written by Bobby Braddock
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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.
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,
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
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.
im suprised theres only 3 comments on this,
i mean it really is the truth, everything changes, the kids grow up the parents grow old, it's life in more real, but upsetting terms. but it really is life.
I really like how he explains the time period with the songs that are out at the time, it's real creative
i think its about how time doesn't stop for anyone, and kind of makes me think of how insignficant our lives really are.
I love how this song shows how not having any respect for yourself can lead to a wasted life. It goes from being the typical American family to nothing over the course of the kids growing up.
The dad seems to keep to himself and only be interested in himself which creates problems through the family. The mom is depressed and finally losses all touch. The brother gets hooked on drugs and lets his body go to hell. The sister is only interested in how others view her. The line about being a sexy grandma seems so messed up yet so typical.
The only positive is in the music of the times. When he says the angels sing an old Hank Williams song it seems to show how music affects our lives and is very deep. This is a great song for many reasons and does a great job of covering how families fall apart.
The part that jumps out at me especially during this election season of 2020 was the part about South moves north and north moves south. I would love other people's thoughts or perhaps what would be amazing is what the writer was thinking with that lyric.