"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.
Come the day
You see the sun
Hit the arch
A history song
If you don't know it now then you will do
A ship across
The estuary
Sundays lost
In melancholy
A storm of strings
Far away
The hangers on
Saved the day
You see the sun
Hit the arch
A history song
If you don't know it now then you will do
A ship across
The estuary
Sundays lost
In melancholy
A storm of strings
Far away
The hangers on
Saved the day
Lyrics submitted by keed
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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"
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,
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.
Unbelievable, I'm the first. What's up with you people? Such a wonderful song. Comment! It has a lot of melancholy in it (damn, they even mention it!), just like the whole album, but there is some ray of hope evident from the very first lines ("come the day/you see the sun"). Looking back at the title one could think it asks to accept all the hardships as natural - it's been like that throughout the history of mankind, various wars (storm may be a metaphor for war), and they will always be from time to time. We must be those "hangers-on", strong and doing whatever we can to survive, waiting for it to end, because everything ends, one day.
Back when people were sentenced to hang for their crimes, at times people would wait behind the gallows until the trap doors were dropped, at which point they would grab the legs of those being hung and pulled down on them, to ensure a quicker and less excrutiating death. These were the "hangers-on" I'm afraid. This song is a surreal description of an execution in the Great Britain of yore. Though your interpretation is admirable, screamas.
^Oh and I didn't mean to sound pompous with that statement at the end of the post, I meant to add that my description of the meaning came from Damon Albarn himself in an interview-type thing.
I also agree with screamas's interpretation. I think just because the author gave one meaning doesn't mean a song can't have other, more subtle meaning to it.
"If you don't know it now, then you will do..." may be one of the best refrains of the year.
Kind of sad most people overlook this band, as it features excellent musicians...Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz), Simonon (The Clash), Tong (The Verve), and Tony Allen, who may very well be one of the best drummers of the era. Honestly, this album just might be the best album so far this year.