Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
I try to stay busy
I do the dishes, I mow the lawn
I try to keep myself occupied
Even though I know you're not coming home
I try to keep the house nice and neat
I make my bed, I change the sheets
I even learned how to use a washing machine
Keeping things clean doesn't change anything
What am I gonna do when I run out of shirts to fold?
What am I gonna do when I run out of lawn to mow?
What am I gonna do if you never come home?
Tell me, oh, what am I gonna do?
Oh, I hate it
I hate it here
When you're gone
I caught myself thinking
I caught myself thinking once again
I have to try to keep my mind out of this
Try not to pretend
I'll check the phone
I'll check the mail
I'll check the phone again
I call you're mom
She says you're not there
And I should take care
Oh, I hate it here
When you're gone
I hate it
I hate it here
When you're gone
I try to stay busy
I take out the trash, I sweep the floor
Try to keep myself occupied
'Cause I know you don't live here anymore
I do the dishes, I mow the lawn
I try to keep myself occupied
Even though I know you're not coming home
I try to keep the house nice and neat
I make my bed, I change the sheets
I even learned how to use a washing machine
Keeping things clean doesn't change anything
What am I gonna do when I run out of shirts to fold?
What am I gonna do when I run out of lawn to mow?
What am I gonna do if you never come home?
Tell me, oh, what am I gonna do?
Oh, I hate it
I hate it here
When you're gone
I caught myself thinking
I caught myself thinking once again
I have to try to keep my mind out of this
Try not to pretend
I'll check the phone
I'll check the mail
I'll check the phone again
I call you're mom
She says you're not there
And I should take care
Oh, I hate it here
When you're gone
I hate it
I hate it here
When you're gone
I try to stay busy
I take out the trash, I sweep the floor
Try to keep myself occupied
'Cause I know you don't live here anymore
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More Featured Meanings
The Spy
Doors, The
Doors, The
when rules change
Life in Your Way
Life in Your Way
High life
Battle Royale
Word Alive, The
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Techno Ted
Audioslave
Audioslave
Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"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.
That makes perfect sense -- but whose mom is he calling at the end?