"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.
A knife to cut the skin
A cave to hide in
I open myself to you
Counting the scars I bear
I know I should be there
But soon the day will come - when we leave
I think I found my place
I found the truth in you
We stood among the ruins
No more I fear the night
Your eyes bring the light
The door is opening into the shrine of sleep
Deep in the woods stands an abandoned house
Its windows face the night
Behind the green door, we have the suicide shrine
The flowers of Orient cover the bed
To be anywhere out of this world, in peace
To leave this cruel place behind. Release!
When I open my eyes, clouds are dancing in the sky
High in the air, strange birds fly
Warm wind brings luxurious scent of unknown flowers
On this perfect grass, we make love for a thousand hours
The valley below has a veil of gentle rain
Never again will we have to feel the pain
The purple mist conceals a giant mountain
All its streams run to the shining fountain
Once, in a dream, I have been here, but now, when with you, I have no fear
And when night falls upon horizon, there is a blaze
Our hearts rejoice
The old world has reached its dying days
I kiss your wounds, and in our eyes they disappear
You hold me tight, and our minds, once distraught, now crystal clear
A cave to hide in
I open myself to you
Counting the scars I bear
I know I should be there
But soon the day will come - when we leave
I think I found my place
I found the truth in you
We stood among the ruins
No more I fear the night
Your eyes bring the light
The door is opening into the shrine of sleep
Deep in the woods stands an abandoned house
Its windows face the night
Behind the green door, we have the suicide shrine
The flowers of Orient cover the bed
To be anywhere out of this world, in peace
To leave this cruel place behind. Release!
When I open my eyes, clouds are dancing in the sky
High in the air, strange birds fly
Warm wind brings luxurious scent of unknown flowers
On this perfect grass, we make love for a thousand hours
The valley below has a veil of gentle rain
Never again will we have to feel the pain
The purple mist conceals a giant mountain
All its streams run to the shining fountain
Once, in a dream, I have been here, but now, when with you, I have no fear
And when night falls upon horizon, there is a blaze
Our hearts rejoice
The old world has reached its dying days
I kiss your wounds, and in our eyes they disappear
You hold me tight, and our minds, once distraught, now crystal clear
Lyrics submitted by Opethfanatic89
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
This is Reverend Bizarre's penultimate song and the final conclusion to Albert's trilogy (In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend, Crush the Insects, and finally, So Long, Suckers). The general meaning of this song is Albert's reasoning for breaking up the band, but I think it means something deeper.
The song is obviously a tribute to victim's of suicide. I think that it is about a person who has a lover (or perhaps a close friend) and they both struggle with severe depression. The "abandoned house" refers to the confinement they feel and the urge to end their life. However, seeing hope and determination, the two continue on in life before ending up in the strange "paradise" that Albert refers to - a place that is not heaven or anything, but a place that is found after all their misery is gone - redemption.