"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.
Rather than I want to hold your hand,
I want to swallow you whole
'N I want to lick you everywhere it's pink
'N everywhere you think
Whole kit 'n kaboodle 'n the kitchen sink
Heaven's sexy as hell
Life is integrated,
Goes together so well
'N so on
Well, I'm gonna go on 'n do my washing
Well, now you may think I'm crazy but I want you to
Lick my decals off baby
'N I don't want you to be lazy
'Cause it's drivin' me crazy
'N this song ain't no sing-song
It's all about the birds 'n the bees
'N where it went all wrong
'N where it all belongs
'N the earth all go down on their knees
Lookin' for ah little ease
She stuck out her toungue 'n the fun begun
She stuck out her toungue 'n the fun begun
She stuck it out at me, 'n I just thumbed my nose
'N went on washing my clothes
I want to swallow you whole
'N I want to lick you everywhere it's pink
'N everywhere you think
Whole kit 'n kaboodle 'n the kitchen sink
Heaven's sexy as hell
Life is integrated,
Goes together so well
'N so on
Well, I'm gonna go on 'n do my washing
Well, now you may think I'm crazy but I want you to
Lick my decals off baby
'N I don't want you to be lazy
'Cause it's drivin' me crazy
'N this song ain't no sing-song
It's all about the birds 'n the bees
'N where it went all wrong
'N where it all belongs
'N the earth all go down on their knees
Lookin' for ah little ease
She stuck out her toungue 'n the fun begun
She stuck out her toungue 'n the fun begun
She stuck it out at me, 'n I just thumbed my nose
'N went on washing my clothes
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Ebba Grön
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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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.
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Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
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.
Blow job!
Its not about blowjobs (as many believe) its about dropping acid. Decals are small pictures or drawings; tabs of acid always have a cartoon picture on. You take acid by placing the tab on your tongue, thus the reference to licking and the like "she stuck out her tongue and the fun begun"
@Armitage Shanks: Tabs of acid did NOT "always have a cartoon picture on" them! When I first started taking acid in 1969, they came in tablets, barrels, or capsules. They didn't have pictures of any kind on them. I didn't see any cartoon tabs (or windowpanes) until the mid-1970s or so. I still have a couple of acid tabs with Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice on them, which I sucked the LSD out of but kept the paper tabs. And "Lick My Decals Off, Baby" is about sex, not LSD.
I dunno, it may not be "about" oral sex, but that's totally a major aspect of it. "everywhere that's pink 'n everywhere you think", "down on their knees", "all about the birds and the bees" and all that. I consider the opening lines a statement of intent - this ain't no Beatles song, you and I are gonna get rutty!
I don't really think this song is about taking acid. From what I can tell Don wasn't a big proponent of drugs. And yeah, LSD sometimes comes with pretty pictures, I don't think just having a picture on something qualifies it as a decal.
A decal is like a little sticker that you put on something (model airplane for example). Yeah, that model plane may look like the real deal with all those cool decals on it, but the decals are just a thin, artificial mask that only hides what really is. Beneath all the stickers, it's just a hunk of plastic.
I think Beefheart is using decals as a metaphor for the masks we wear and the personas we portray in social situations. It's only when you get rid of the decals, that you get to the true nature of yourself.
I also agree with ozacrot that the sexual aspect of this song was intended. "I want to lick you everywhere it's pink 'N everywhere you think". You may say I have a dirty mind but I know what I'M thinking...
And that nod to the Beatles is a great opener for both the song and the entire album. It lets you know just what kind of ride you've strapped yourself in for.
@earthlycitizen We now know Don was an enthusiastic LSD user for quite a while, even though he denied it.<br /> But your analysis of the song is pretty spot on. <br /> John French made a fool of himself in his book, getting all prudish about the oral sex part of the lyrics.