The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
All the night her dream
passes by my bed
undeniable, and all she said
she wrote the letter
hard to find love
since you arrived here
harder to find the love
then pull your body near
She wrote the letter
down
She wrote the letter
down
I know I know I know
you felt a change in my heart
I know I know I know
the planets ripped you apart
I know I know I know
all the sins they knew no better
I know I know I know
all that I've lost
is bound to pass
dying to know
too afraid to ask
she wrote the letter
Hard to find love
when your a walking blind in here
go wash your heart in the river
till the water runs clear
she wrote the letter
down
she wrote the letter
down
she wrote the letter
down
I know I know I know
you felt a change in my heart
I know I know I know
the planets ripped you apart
I know I know I know
when the sins all know no better
I know I know I know
Love, I just want to say it right
Love, I just want to say it right
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye
passes by my bed
undeniable, and all she said
she wrote the letter
hard to find love
since you arrived here
harder to find the love
then pull your body near
She wrote the letter
down
She wrote the letter
down
I know I know I know
you felt a change in my heart
I know I know I know
the planets ripped you apart
I know I know I know
all the sins they knew no better
I know I know I know
all that I've lost
is bound to pass
dying to know
too afraid to ask
she wrote the letter
Hard to find love
when your a walking blind in here
go wash your heart in the river
till the water runs clear
she wrote the letter
down
she wrote the letter
down
she wrote the letter
down
I know I know I know
you felt a change in my heart
I know I know I know
the planets ripped you apart
I know I know I know
when the sins all know no better
I know I know I know
Love, I just want to say it right
Love, I just want to say it right
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye
Lyrics submitted by UncleJoe
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"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.
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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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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
The age of the writer is crucial in this song. My guess is typical "twenty-something" naive love. The context, or voice, or rather, vibe of the song is of the voice of someone confused, perhaps even fearful of the duel unknown of either 1) staying in the relationship or 2) breaking up.
Breaking up is very painful. When one breaks up with one person, one's becoming enemies with one they've been their most vulnerable too. This applies to both parties in the relationship.
This song's nothing more than one person's attempt at trying to reconcile their feelings while entering the oblivion of a relationship no more.
The final lyrics is nothing more than the person admitting defeat meaning that he realizes the relationship's futile.
'The Letter" is nothing more than a metaphor for the voice thinking his loving counterpart wants out.
The song is the musing of this unreconcilable confusion.