"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.
Do I disappoint you, in just being human?
And not one of the elements that you can light your cigar on
Why does it always have to be fire?
Why does it always have to be brimstone?
Desire
Cool this body down
Do I disappoint you, in just being lonely?
And not one of the elements that you can call your one and only
Why does it always have to be water?
Why does it always have to be holy wine?
Destruction
Of all mankind
And do I disappoint you?
Do I disappoint you in just being like you?
Tired of being the reason the road has a shoulder
And it could be argued, why they all return to the order
Why does it always have to be chaos?
Why does it always have to be wanderlust?
Sensational
I'm gonna smash your bloody skull
'Cause, baby, no, you can't see inside
No, baby, no, you can't see my soul
Do I disappoint you?
Do I disappoint you?
And not one of the elements that you can light your cigar on
Why does it always have to be fire?
Why does it always have to be brimstone?
Desire
Cool this body down
Do I disappoint you, in just being lonely?
And not one of the elements that you can call your one and only
Why does it always have to be water?
Why does it always have to be holy wine?
Destruction
Of all mankind
And do I disappoint you?
Do I disappoint you in just being like you?
Tired of being the reason the road has a shoulder
And it could be argued, why they all return to the order
Why does it always have to be chaos?
Why does it always have to be wanderlust?
Sensational
I'm gonna smash your bloody skull
'Cause, baby, no, you can't see inside
No, baby, no, you can't see my soul
Do I disappoint you?
Do I disappoint you?
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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"
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
Fire, brimstone, water, holy wine, chaos: he feels like he's being shoved into the seat of a Messiah. He's fully aware that he's only human, and wants to please, which is why he asks if he's being disappointing. At the same time, he wants to hold on to his privacy. There are limits to what he's willing to do to be adored.
I love this song. I'm thinking it's either about how fans will always start to believe the person they admire is greater than human or about how the homophobes belive that gays are so different than them when really everyone is just human. Or maybe it's about both?
Does this seem like an anthssis to Taylor Hicks "Do I Make You Proud?" A nice way to start off the new album
Does this seem like an anthssis to Taylor Hicks "Do I Make You Proud?" A nice way to start off the new album
I think that in this song the scene is the tension between a celebrity (Rufus) and a real beauty who the celebrity is interested in.
In this case, the beauty is a muscled, macho, cigar-smoking stud who floors Rufus.
The stud shows interest in Rufus, since he's a celebrity, but Rufus is wracked with insecurity and doubt by the situation.
that is such a wonderful, interesting interpretation! so theatrical, so Rufus. Even if it's not what he intended, i think i'll interpret the song the same way you did.
this song is about his relationship with his dad loudon wainwright.
guys, it's fairly obvious that the song is about how religion goes out of its way to focus on the sin of homosexuality.
the last line is also 'no baby no you can't SAVE my soul'
Wow, according to many fan's interpretations here, I feel as though I have totally got this song wrong. To me it was blatantly about Rufus making peace with his atheism. He imagines the god figure as being spiteful, judgmental and destructive, yet Rufus realises its all bravado and he mocks back as if faced with a (hu)man displaying the same weak personality traits. He is done with religion and wakes up to the fact that maintaining any belief in it weakens his self-worth. This song is the moment of realisation that he is a stronger person without religion beating him down for not upholding its ridiculous dogmatic rules. Being gay, he falls outside the hardcore religious clique, but his unrestrained singing and confidence in this song tells of somebody relieved to not fit in with such shallow rules. Rufus with this song, basically had the last word on religious bigotry. He said it all.