"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.
[we're recording, shut up]
Strontium-90
Removed from milk
Is as curious an entity
As bullshit writ on silk
Cancer's airborne now
Do you hear the sound?
I was hanging out the washing, man
As the rain came falling down
Now the grass lies snakes
Has crowds of iodine and fire
On Jezebel's luminescence
I swear you are my heart's desire
Bombproof the embassy
Give infanticide a cemetery
You looked so good on the late night news
With your curtain and your deed
Yeah, I love you like a violin
I'll hunt you like an amputee
But I ain't gonna lose my skin
I would love to see you again,
Again...
I... I would love to see you again
I... I would love to see you again
You wrote me a letter
And this is how it went:
It said, "We're just backing up the supply lines
The first division's crossin' the Nile
Through the rushes and up the side
And into the machine gun fire"
Yeah, you tell me that this is not a dream
I've become a steel spring
Uranium tips, night vision cruise missiles
Gonna cut the belly out of the sky
I rode an Abrams
And we stopped in Bethlehem
They made the answers here
But there weren't so many questions then
And there I shot a woman
In a headscarf with my gun
She said, "Does my bomb look big in this?
Am I the only one?"
I was in the blitz, you know
When my heart was young and true
I had a Caesarean, but it was not any use
Oh, calamity! Oh, the vanity!
You can't ride a thunderbolt
You can't claim an enemy
There ain't nothing here
Except a darkness, Lord
I ain't gonna fail no test
I gave my dowry to a finger on a switch
Turn me to a fine pink mist
But I ain't nothing but your stranger still
If I'm even anyone at all
But I ain't gonna lose my skin
I would love to see you again,
Again...
I... I would love to see you again
I... I would love to see you again
But that ain't gonna happen now
It's no use to pretend
No
How many people gonna lie?
How many people gonna die?
What's best for the West and the greed?
Kill 'em all? Let 'em breed?
Another bomb for every atom you injure
Meet the Devil with extended ring finger
Saying "thou shalt not kill"
But I'm damned if I don't
So I'm thinking I will
Yeah, Dan Pearl
They cut your head off on TV
But I am not a camera
A man is not an effigy
But still all this horror
Has made a trench out of my soul
I'm gonna have to fall in love with a blind girl
So she will not see the shame that I know
Oh, new scar
You have raised the bar
Goliath rides an oil drum raft
Through a cyclone in my ear drums
You don't want a tyrant, we're sure
You'd prefer civil war
And I am gonna lose my skin
And I ain't gonna see you again
Again...
I... I would love to see you again
I... I would love to see you again
Strontium-90
Removed from milk
Is as curious an entity
As bullshit writ on silk
Cancer's airborne now
Do you hear the sound?
I was hanging out the washing, man
As the rain came falling down
Now the grass lies snakes
Has crowds of iodine and fire
On Jezebel's luminescence
I swear you are my heart's desire
Bombproof the embassy
Give infanticide a cemetery
You looked so good on the late night news
With your curtain and your deed
Yeah, I love you like a violin
I'll hunt you like an amputee
But I ain't gonna lose my skin
I would love to see you again,
Again...
I... I would love to see you again
I... I would love to see you again
You wrote me a letter
And this is how it went:
It said, "We're just backing up the supply lines
The first division's crossin' the Nile
Through the rushes and up the side
And into the machine gun fire"
Yeah, you tell me that this is not a dream
I've become a steel spring
Uranium tips, night vision cruise missiles
Gonna cut the belly out of the sky
I rode an Abrams
And we stopped in Bethlehem
They made the answers here
But there weren't so many questions then
And there I shot a woman
In a headscarf with my gun
She said, "Does my bomb look big in this?
Am I the only one?"
I was in the blitz, you know
When my heart was young and true
I had a Caesarean, but it was not any use
Oh, calamity! Oh, the vanity!
You can't ride a thunderbolt
You can't claim an enemy
There ain't nothing here
Except a darkness, Lord
I ain't gonna fail no test
I gave my dowry to a finger on a switch
Turn me to a fine pink mist
But I ain't nothing but your stranger still
If I'm even anyone at all
But I ain't gonna lose my skin
I would love to see you again,
Again...
I... I would love to see you again
I... I would love to see you again
But that ain't gonna happen now
It's no use to pretend
No
How many people gonna lie?
How many people gonna die?
What's best for the West and the greed?
Kill 'em all? Let 'em breed?
Another bomb for every atom you injure
Meet the Devil with extended ring finger
Saying "thou shalt not kill"
But I'm damned if I don't
So I'm thinking I will
Yeah, Dan Pearl
They cut your head off on TV
But I am not a camera
A man is not an effigy
But still all this horror
Has made a trench out of my soul
I'm gonna have to fall in love with a blind girl
So she will not see the shame that I know
Oh, new scar
You have raised the bar
Goliath rides an oil drum raft
Through a cyclone in my ear drums
You don't want a tyrant, we're sure
You'd prefer civil war
And I am gonna lose my skin
And I ain't gonna see you again
Again...
I... I would love to see you again
I... I would love to see you again
Lyrics submitted by shrodes
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More Featured Meanings
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,
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
does my bomb look big in this?!
am i the only one!!!!
radical song, very good, 2nd best on the album behind sixteen straws