"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 little girl prayed at the close of the day,
Cause her daddy had gone far away,
On her little face was a look of despair,
I stood there and listened, and I heard this prayer
My mommy says daddy has brought us to shame
And I'm never no more to mention his name
Lord take me and lead me and hold to my hand
Oh heavenly father help me understand
You know friends I wonder
Just how many homes are broken tonight
And just how many tears are shed
By some little word of anger
That never should have been said
I'd like to tell you a story
Of a family I once knew.
We'll call them Mary and William
And their little daughter sue
Now Mary was just a plain mother
And bill was just a usual dad
And they had their little family quarrels
(like everybody else)
But neither one really got mad
Then one day something happened
It was nothing of course
But one word led to another
And the last word led to a divorce
Now here were two grown up people
Who failed to use common sense
They strengthened their own selfish pride
At little Sue's expense
You know she didn't ask to be brought to
This world
To drift from pillar to post
But a divorce never stops to consider
The ones it hurts the most
There'd be a lot more honest loving
In this wicked ole world today
If just a few parted parents
Could hear little sue say
Take me and lead me and hold to my hand
Oh heavenly father, help me understand
Cause her daddy had gone far away,
On her little face was a look of despair,
I stood there and listened, and I heard this prayer
My mommy says daddy has brought us to shame
And I'm never no more to mention his name
Lord take me and lead me and hold to my hand
Oh heavenly father help me understand
You know friends I wonder
Just how many homes are broken tonight
And just how many tears are shed
By some little word of anger
That never should have been said
I'd like to tell you a story
Of a family I once knew.
We'll call them Mary and William
And their little daughter sue
Now Mary was just a plain mother
And bill was just a usual dad
And they had their little family quarrels
(like everybody else)
But neither one really got mad
Then one day something happened
It was nothing of course
But one word led to another
And the last word led to a divorce
Now here were two grown up people
Who failed to use common sense
They strengthened their own selfish pride
At little Sue's expense
You know she didn't ask to be brought to
This world
To drift from pillar to post
But a divorce never stops to consider
The ones it hurts the most
There'd be a lot more honest loving
In this wicked ole world today
If just a few parted parents
Could hear little sue say
Take me and lead me and hold to my hand
Oh heavenly father, help me understand
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Wu-Tang Clan
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
When We Were Young
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Page
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Plastic Bag
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“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.