"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.
An ending abrupt, I was quick to change
You did this to me.
On the way to a life that made sense to what this is.
I can't, straight-faced
I'd be lying if I told you that this is how
I always dreamed it would be.
But anyway, I'm so happy.
Accustomed ringing in my ears
It's not so bad, not bad at all
On top of the world, out of the country,
Home, don't forget
I'm here, I can't
I'd be lying if I told you that this is how
I always dreamed it would be.
But anyway, I'm so happy.
Ooh...
Ooh...
You did this to me.
On the way to a life that made sense to what this is.
I can't, straight-faced
I'd be lying if I told you that this is how
I always dreamed it would be.
But anyway, I'm so happy.
Accustomed ringing in my ears
It's not so bad, not bad at all
On top of the world, out of the country,
Home, don't forget
I'm here, I can't
I'd be lying if I told you that this is how
I always dreamed it would be.
But anyway, I'm so happy.
Ooh...
Ooh...
Lyrics submitted by ellie117
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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,
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/
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
My two cents: this song is about a break up. Not just any break up, but a massive one. She was with a man, who she thought was "the one," perhaps they were married, perhaps they were engaged, perhaps they were highschool sweethearts. It doesn't matter.
He was the one who, abruptly, ended the relationship- or at it was least abrupt to her. So, she had to change; they had been together for such a long time that she didn't know who she was without him. They were two people who made up one entity and that entity was all she knew- it was the only way she knew how to function, how to live: as one piece to a two-part unit. That is the only life that made sense to her.
And she can't, straight faced, tell him that this is how she always dreamed it would be- that they would be apart- but she's so happy- because she has finally found herself. Without him she is, now, able to see that she is not only just a piece that makes up a single entity- no, she's much more than that. She's a person, with her own dreams, goals, and aspirations. She is finally free to see herself as who she is by herself- beautiful, intelligent, kind, adventurous, giving- she is all of these things, with no outside help. Everything she is, she is, because she chooses to be.
In the second verse of the song, she is alluding to finding all of this out- and now she's starting to become accustomed to her new life- it's terrifying, being alone, but she's taking the chances, she's taking risks- she travels, she's on top of the world... but she remembers him, she remembers her family- she remembers home and loves them all- but she's so happy- off on her own, becoming the woman she wants to become.
Wow. Pretty much no one's commented on this yet! It's one of my favorites even though it's short. XP
But yes, I think... it's about how she feels about her marriage, and it took her off guard. She was used to what she had, and then she had to get used to everything again. But it's okay, because she loves him. When she says "I'd be lying if I told you that this is how I always dreamed it would be," I'm thinking she means she hoped things wouldn't have changed as much as it did.
Yeah... I just took a stab at it. But I love the song!!!
I
The lyrics to me mean a suicide, "you did this to me, on a way to a life that makes sense..."
'Id be lying if I told you that this is how I always dreamed it would be. But anyway, I'm so happy." ......... meaning she never thought this would be the way she would die, but its okay, let her go
"Accustomed ringing in my ears It's not so bad, not bad at all On top of the world, out of the country," .....this is the dieing process
"Home, don't forget I'm here, I can't" ,,,,,Shes now passed into the after life, but her spirit/ghost will always be with her home, "i cant" ,,,shows how she is trying to let 'home know she is here' but she "cant"
I'd be lying if I told you that this is how I always dreamed it would be. But anyway, I'm so happy.............. it is what it is! she found her true happiness in her after life