"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.
From tender years you took me for granted
But still I deigned to wander through your lungs
While you were sleeping soundly in your bed
(Your drapes were silver wings; your shutters flung)
I drew the poison from the summer's sting
And eased the fire out of your fevered skin
I moved in you and stirred your soul to sing
And if you'd let me, I would move again
I've danced 'tween sunlight strands of lover's hair
Helped form the final words before your death
I've pitied you and plied your sails with air
Gave blessing when you rose upon my breath
And after all of this, I am amazed
That I am cursed far more than I am praised
But still I deigned to wander through your lungs
While you were sleeping soundly in your bed
(Your drapes were silver wings; your shutters flung)
I drew the poison from the summer's sting
And eased the fire out of your fevered skin
I moved in you and stirred your soul to sing
And if you'd let me, I would move again
I've danced 'tween sunlight strands of lover's hair
Helped form the final words before your death
I've pitied you and plied your sails with air
Gave blessing when you rose upon my breath
And after all of this, I am amazed
That I am cursed far more than I am praised
Lyrics submitted by T-H Rice fo shiz, edited by tomsterD, EveryEmotion
Silver Wings Lyrics as written by Edward Carrington Breckenridge Dustin Michael Kensrue
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
When We Were Young
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
No Surprises
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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.
Page
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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.
@abcdefghij Granted, I'm almost a decade late on this comment, but yes. I agree, and I think the reason this element is personified the way it is was intended to make us draw that parallel. The moment something goes wrong in our lives, we blame God. At the same time, we'll enjoy the blessings of the world we live in without stopping to be grateful to God. I bet the Christian bashers would be upset to hear that the breath of life and the presence of God is likened to air/wind quite often in the Bible. Dustin has shown deep knowledge of scripture through other lyrics, so I am not surprised of this parallel. Nor am I surprised that Christian bashers do not know this parallel, because they do not study the Bible and naturally, would not know about these parallels. Long story short, it's about air/wind on the surface, but it is meant to get us to think about our relationship with God. It's a shame that many will only see the surface of this song.