"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.
[ILSE]
And all shall fade
The flowers of spring
The world and all the sorrow
At the heart of everything
But still it stays
The butterfly sings
And opens purple summer
With a flutter of its wings
[ALL]
The earth will wave with corn
The gray-fly choir will mourn
And mares will neigh
With stallions that they mate
Foals they've borne
And all shall know the wonder
Of purple summer
And yet, I wait
The swallow brings
A song to hard to follow
That no one else can sing
The fences sway
The porches swing
The clouds begin to thunder
Crickets wander, murmuring
The earth will wave with corn
The gray-fly choir will mourn
And mares will neigh
With stallions that they mate
Foals they've borne
And all shall know the wonder
I will sing the song of purple summer
And all shall know the wonder
I will sing the song of purple summer
All shall know the wonder of purple summer
And all shall fade
The flowers of spring
The world and all the sorrow
At the heart of everything
But still it stays
The butterfly sings
And opens purple summer
With a flutter of its wings
[ALL]
The earth will wave with corn
The gray-fly choir will mourn
And mares will neigh
With stallions that they mate
Foals they've borne
And all shall know the wonder
Of purple summer
And yet, I wait
The swallow brings
A song to hard to follow
That no one else can sing
The fences sway
The porches swing
The clouds begin to thunder
Crickets wander, murmuring
The earth will wave with corn
The gray-fly choir will mourn
And mares will neigh
With stallions that they mate
Foals they've borne
And all shall know the wonder
I will sing the song of purple summer
And all shall know the wonder
I will sing the song of purple summer
All shall know the wonder of purple summer
Lyrics submitted by manprettys_panties
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Fast Car
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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,
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we sang this song for graduation! aw! it's soooo beautiful!!
I've never seen this musical but my aunt has and she has the CD so I've heard the songs. I'm guessing this song is about their "spring awakening" but all I know is it's really pretty!!!
I can back up what Kajosa said, it's on some official website. Adolescent-adult=spring-summer and purple summer is a flower. All of that's referenced through the play a ton (flowers & seasons).
Some parts of this song I hate, but everytime they go into the harmony on "stallions" I ignore the random reference of corn because it's so beautiful.
This song is completely about bridging the gap between adolescence and adulthood, and good job on catching the season metaphor. But the lyrics are not just some random stew of vegetables. The idea of corn is that no matter what happens corn will stay standing, even if it is dead and there are no ears in it, creating an adamant figure in the subtext. And as you know, vegetables go in and out of season, just as everything else. And yes the Purple Summer is a flower that blooms in summer instead of spring. The main meaning behind this song is that although there are trials and tribulations throughout life, things will become good again, no matter how sad.
The "Mares will niegh/with stallions that they mate" refers to a line earlier in the play where one of the characters talks about how mares and stallions aren't ashamed of their sexuality.
I thought the mare will neigh with stallions that they mate, foals theyve born, refers to Melchior, Wendela, and their unborn child. How they will always be together, whether dead or alive.
I saw the musical with a class, so I got to attend a Talk-back, and one of the actors said that they found out that Purple summer is a flower purported to grow in graveyards. Fitting since two characters die and the musical ends in a graveyard.
the reference to corn is because even if you cut of the actual corn, the stalk will go on living and grow back again. i still dont kno what "gray-fly choir" is supposed to mean. does anyone? oh by the way, if you have never seen this musical, you definitely should at some point in your life. ive seen it like 5 times. its the best!
A song to hard to follow That no one else can sing
what does this line spesifically mean?
I think it's saying that no one can tell you when you are growing into adulthood; that it's something that you have to figure out on your own.
I got from that "A song to hard to follow" was the how difficult it was to know what would happen next in your growth from adolescence to adulthood. "That know one else can sing" means that it is something YOU have to experience, no one else can do it for you. It is different for every person.
Purple Summer is a common name for Phlox paniculata, also known as "The King" for some reason. It blooms from around July until sometime in the fall, unlike most flowers that bloom in the springtime. This probably helps to symbolize the idea that the characters are growing. Think about it... "Spring" Awakening, and then the last song talking about a flower that blooms in summer...
the purple flower you so often see Ilse holding is a purple summer flower