"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.
Fear lies beside me
A vessel, an army
That threatens the night
The wind is whispering
Howling and hissing
"Be unafraid"
Tragic this moment of kindness
Touches my eyes in their blindness
Come lie beside me
Say I won't be lonely
As we kiss goodnight
For two ships are sailing
The wind is wailing
"An ocean awaits"
Captured this moment inspires us
To unlock the latches that bind us
And we will leave behind these fallen tears
For two will sail tonight
And here in this humble ship
I will make my home
A vessel, an army
That threatens the night
The wind is whispering
Howling and hissing
"Be unafraid"
Tragic this moment of kindness
Touches my eyes in their blindness
Come lie beside me
Say I won't be lonely
As we kiss goodnight
For two ships are sailing
The wind is wailing
"An ocean awaits"
Captured this moment inspires us
To unlock the latches that bind us
And we will leave behind these fallen tears
For two will sail tonight
And here in this humble ship
I will make my home
Lyrics submitted by tryhardpunk
The Albatross Lyrics as written by Cranny Blasko
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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How beautiful.
Tragic this moment of kindness Touches my eyes in their blindness
I studied S.T Coleridge's poetry a while ago and some of Sarah Blasko's songs relate to it in way or another, even the cover is a direct homage, I think.
This is very similar to a Coleridge poem called "The Rime of Ancient Mariner" where a seaman has committed a crime (killing an albatross) and he starts to realise it and he wears the bird's carcass on his neck to remind him. Soon, a ghost ship appears ahead of his own with two beings: Death and Life-in-Death - which might be what she means by "Two ships are sailing" - to pass judgement upon the seaman. Etc, etc, etc, he is punished and then the seaman...actually, I'm rambling.
In short, the albatross is a symbol of hope but after it is killed, it becomes a symbol of guilt. So, this song could be about a confession and the purging of some form of guilt, or to "unlock the latches that bind us".
Without much thought to the poem, I just think it's about two people, they like each other and then sail off into the sunset.
Lol, both are wrong anyway. It's just my take on it.
m0ofin -- i am so glad someone else noticed the connections between SB & The Rime of The Ancient Mariner !!! I remember posting something about it on my comment for "Queen Of Apology" a while back. I was reading that poem today and I thought "I might comment on The Albatross".. & you beat me to it, lol. You put it much better than I could have, though. ;)
Beautiful, reflective song. It flows, & seems to have a depth and life of it's own.