"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.
[Vast Aire]
Yo, I ain't superstisious but these niggas is nice
[Cryptic]
A lot of cats pop shit, I pop apocalypse
Toppin propaganda force fed to the populace
My thoughts run the gamut from outstandin' to preposterous
On top of this I move posteriors
Brother impoverished the pac shuries [?]
My process: accomplish through perseverance
Every man's not my brother regardless of appearance
Apprehension clouds the spirit
Tension prepares us for ascension
And at his best is when he breaks conventions
A convenient covenant coveted for conception
We're all from the same mold: spores and bacteria
Those woulda fear me others would thaw hysteria
A claustrophobic neurosis in this masquerade ball of fake glasses and big noses
Molasses splashes explosive flows
Two exposed Pinochio's growin' nose
Composed of compost compositions
Those clothes are gettin' a little close fittin'
I stop this shit and I'm over-confident
The script's compliments of my frozen mic dominance
A passively aggressive testament is how I'm reppin' shit
[Vast Aire]
Watch Vast murder the track effortless
Like God's on my side and he answered my Christmas list
After the first couple of bars I start to smell fear
That's when I take them there so they can breathe Aire
You're so secure with your insecurity
Perfect world of piety I swat flies when they bother me
Some say I touch hearts like Kano
Now every time you see a mic you just say no
Some write with words, I write with matters
As my soul is brushed free Vast Aire dusty
In the coldest winters we thought husky
They be like, "I don't know his name but he aim like Wayne Gretzky"
That's funny, cause I don't play hockey
I play horse on the mic and watch 'em all copy
Left hooks left him shook etch-a-sketchy
Give me an inch line I'll take a mile if you let me
I'm not a bum, I'm a nomad, off dome
Thoughts have no home, the page is ours to roam
Cats be on some fantasy shit like Cinderella
Well we'll see if the shoe fits after the a cappella
And the nascent's claimin' sonnin [?]
What's the penalty for that? He might never come back
And the atomic pressure won't lessin
After you've learned your lesson
Mister sits in a track? Yeah that's a buck fifty
Like a farmhand cuttin' a little piggie
From the author I'm also the farmer stupid
I shoot a arrow at you and my name ain't Cupid
[Alaska]
Yo I'm honest with this art
(?) while this heart gets brave
And a blade that's well polished and sharp
Intending to reinvent two spinning wheels in line
Just to enjoy the bumpy rides and improve upon its design
I take time, every plate circle's complete, love it
I've learned even tardy birds come to eat from it
Early bird gets the worm but that early worm finds a spot
In the early bird's stomach and can't escape from it
Pity the odd jocks of live stock graze amongst our mind crop
Beast of burden murdered their minds one
Climbin' nations leave these regions unexplored
Liberty torch the truth with sandy floors on beach shores
Destroy atomic gracelands def-
Definite situations of complex Oedipus
Mother nature broken fucked by offspring's reckless negligence
Disruptive corruptive residence of birthin' now pessimists
Found willingly bound in the back of yellow (?)
Clearly, pity anti Mobius strip theories
Dennis Leary, Miller, and menacing cynicism visions
Would an oppressed bet givin' his position on life's mission
[Vordul Megala]
Now listen how sick is these niggaz?
Atoms to illest, (caterpillars/ cat pillars), And don't choke guns
Smoke onions crying with no funds no fun trying
To get by still Vordul do it and rap music
Til death do us wet your noodle
With raps in the pot hard boil the rap gargoyles
Stoned at night on top of buildings Gothic
Like Bruce in the blue suit let's get it poppin'
Watch it drop outta the sky in the ridin' hampton where some get tackled
Hooks that grapple right on your Adam
Got you chokin' off the rhyme potents
Stay focused while you villains stay jokin'
Serious on the mic get ignorant
Delivering the rap vocals for the new millennium
We're familial marchin' in atomic garments
Bombin' all the nonsense.....
Yo, you cats ain't ready for this, heavy abyss
Thoughts that travel through the tunnels of scripts
My mic holds one in the clip and fo's packed under the dic
Spit rhino acapells gunnin your shit
Your rap plug's stuck in your whips fuckin' with this
Over these El-Pro percussion hits
We love to rip, love to sip, love to rep Jux to Def
Yeah, Atoms...
Yo, I ain't superstisious but these niggas is nice
[Cryptic]
A lot of cats pop shit, I pop apocalypse
Toppin propaganda force fed to the populace
My thoughts run the gamut from outstandin' to preposterous
On top of this I move posteriors
Brother impoverished the pac shuries [?]
My process: accomplish through perseverance
Every man's not my brother regardless of appearance
Apprehension clouds the spirit
Tension prepares us for ascension
And at his best is when he breaks conventions
A convenient covenant coveted for conception
We're all from the same mold: spores and bacteria
Those woulda fear me others would thaw hysteria
A claustrophobic neurosis in this masquerade ball of fake glasses and big noses
Molasses splashes explosive flows
Two exposed Pinochio's growin' nose
Composed of compost compositions
Those clothes are gettin' a little close fittin'
I stop this shit and I'm over-confident
The script's compliments of my frozen mic dominance
A passively aggressive testament is how I'm reppin' shit
[Vast Aire]
Watch Vast murder the track effortless
Like God's on my side and he answered my Christmas list
After the first couple of bars I start to smell fear
That's when I take them there so they can breathe Aire
You're so secure with your insecurity
Perfect world of piety I swat flies when they bother me
Some say I touch hearts like Kano
Now every time you see a mic you just say no
Some write with words, I write with matters
As my soul is brushed free Vast Aire dusty
In the coldest winters we thought husky
They be like, "I don't know his name but he aim like Wayne Gretzky"
That's funny, cause I don't play hockey
I play horse on the mic and watch 'em all copy
Left hooks left him shook etch-a-sketchy
Give me an inch line I'll take a mile if you let me
I'm not a bum, I'm a nomad, off dome
Thoughts have no home, the page is ours to roam
Cats be on some fantasy shit like Cinderella
Well we'll see if the shoe fits after the a cappella
And the nascent's claimin' sonnin [?]
What's the penalty for that? He might never come back
And the atomic pressure won't lessin
After you've learned your lesson
Mister sits in a track? Yeah that's a buck fifty
Like a farmhand cuttin' a little piggie
From the author I'm also the farmer stupid
I shoot a arrow at you and my name ain't Cupid
[Alaska]
Yo I'm honest with this art
(?) while this heart gets brave
And a blade that's well polished and sharp
Intending to reinvent two spinning wheels in line
Just to enjoy the bumpy rides and improve upon its design
I take time, every plate circle's complete, love it
I've learned even tardy birds come to eat from it
Early bird gets the worm but that early worm finds a spot
In the early bird's stomach and can't escape from it
Pity the odd jocks of live stock graze amongst our mind crop
Beast of burden murdered their minds one
Climbin' nations leave these regions unexplored
Liberty torch the truth with sandy floors on beach shores
Destroy atomic gracelands def-
Definite situations of complex Oedipus
Mother nature broken fucked by offspring's reckless negligence
Disruptive corruptive residence of birthin' now pessimists
Found willingly bound in the back of yellow (?)
Clearly, pity anti Mobius strip theories
Dennis Leary, Miller, and menacing cynicism visions
Would an oppressed bet givin' his position on life's mission
[Vordul Megala]
Now listen how sick is these niggaz?
Atoms to illest, (caterpillars/ cat pillars), And don't choke guns
Smoke onions crying with no funds no fun trying
To get by still Vordul do it and rap music
Til death do us wet your noodle
With raps in the pot hard boil the rap gargoyles
Stoned at night on top of buildings Gothic
Like Bruce in the blue suit let's get it poppin'
Watch it drop outta the sky in the ridin' hampton where some get tackled
Hooks that grapple right on your Adam
Got you chokin' off the rhyme potents
Stay focused while you villains stay jokin'
Serious on the mic get ignorant
Delivering the rap vocals for the new millennium
We're familial marchin' in atomic garments
Bombin' all the nonsense.....
Yo, you cats ain't ready for this, heavy abyss
Thoughts that travel through the tunnels of scripts
My mic holds one in the clip and fo's packed under the dic
Spit rhino acapells gunnin your shit
Your rap plug's stuck in your whips fuckin' with this
Over these El-Pro percussion hits
We love to rip, love to sip, love to rep Jux to Def
Yeah, Atoms...
Lyrics submitted by rastasoldier, edited by e8ghtmileshigh
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
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.
The first verse is just incredible, especially with the ridiculous alliteration.
"and at his best is when he breaks conventions a convenient covenant coveted for conception."