"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.
I left a trail of myself every place that I have been through,
And going bald is the most manly thing that I'm ever gonna do.
I tell the earth, "thanks for the hair, thanks for the skin, thanks for the bone",
Though I now slowly give it back I still appreciate the loan.
Just tell me that you like me in the same sentence as a mountain side.
'Cause it would be such a relief to be objectified.
'Cause who says it's so important to sort through these thoughts of ours.
Maybe be that's why we love to try to see ourselves from the outside
In photographs and videos and diaries and mirrors.
'Cause it would be such a relief to be objectified.
And the closest that I ever got still seems to leave a lot to go,
but the horizon seems to be a place that nobody can know.
Looking forth and looking back, our vision can't extend beyond the quaint vanishing points our bodies' recommend,
and I'll help you move some furniture somewhere it's never been before, but the room's so small the dresser drawer won't let us get back out the door.
Just tell me that you like me in the same sentence as the building.
It would be such a relief to...
I'm just a natural thing.
We're only boats,
And the boats are only empty
And you can't blame an empty boat that's on a river to the sea.
You can't blame a billion boats without a sail, without a sailor.
And that's how we look in photographs, and diaries, and mirrors.
And the plants turn into ants, and the ants turn into plants,
And children are clumsy people, and old people are rotting Children.
And I still don't have a cell phone, but this sea shell gets Reception,
And the ocean won't stop calling, and I want a restraining order.
Just tell me that you like me in the same sentence as a building.
It would be such a relief to see I'm just a natural thing.
We're just a natural thing.
Just like anything.
And going bald is the most manly thing that I'm ever gonna do.
I tell the earth, "thanks for the hair, thanks for the skin, thanks for the bone",
Though I now slowly give it back I still appreciate the loan.
Just tell me that you like me in the same sentence as a mountain side.
'Cause it would be such a relief to be objectified.
'Cause who says it's so important to sort through these thoughts of ours.
Maybe be that's why we love to try to see ourselves from the outside
In photographs and videos and diaries and mirrors.
'Cause it would be such a relief to be objectified.
And the closest that I ever got still seems to leave a lot to go,
but the horizon seems to be a place that nobody can know.
Looking forth and looking back, our vision can't extend beyond the quaint vanishing points our bodies' recommend,
and I'll help you move some furniture somewhere it's never been before, but the room's so small the dresser drawer won't let us get back out the door.
Just tell me that you like me in the same sentence as the building.
It would be such a relief to...
I'm just a natural thing.
We're only boats,
And the boats are only empty
And you can't blame an empty boat that's on a river to the sea.
You can't blame a billion boats without a sail, without a sailor.
And that's how we look in photographs, and diaries, and mirrors.
And the plants turn into ants, and the ants turn into plants,
And children are clumsy people, and old people are rotting Children.
And I still don't have a cell phone, but this sea shell gets Reception,
And the ocean won't stop calling, and I want a restraining order.
Just tell me that you like me in the same sentence as a building.
It would be such a relief to see I'm just a natural thing.
We're just a natural thing.
Just like anything.
Lyrics submitted by rayn147
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
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.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
Just an incredible song. Some songs are simply notes...mere vocals and instrumentals with or without great emotion. And some songs are poetry...short novels filled with such emotion that they actually create elation or despair in the listener. Unbelievable tune! I'm not good at much more than scratching the surface of meanings, but I'll give it a shot:
"Just tell me that you like me in the same sentence as a mountain side. 'Cause it would be such a relief to be objectified." The singer wants to know s/he (in this case it's a male) is viewed as strong and important. He wants to be seen as flawless. He wants/needs to feel seen this way. (I'm not getting the feeling that 'objectified" is a negative in this case, as it would be with a female being appreciated only for her looks, in example.)
"Looking forth and looking back, our vision can't extend beyond the quaint vanishing points our bodies' recommend." He can't see past the present- past the superficial. He either can't or perhaps won't learn from the past and he won't consider what is best for his future. The here and now is all he cares about- all that matters.
"And the boats are only empty. And you can't blame an empty boat that's on a river to the sea.You can't blame a billion boats without a sail, without a sailor." He views himself as an empty vessel (empty inside) and without someone to sail. (He's lost direction, perhaps?).
"And that's how we look in photographs, and diaries, and mirrors." Again, he lost his way and all he sees is the present. The past and the future can't or don't matter.
"And the ocean won't stop calling" could mean he's being called away, far away from where he may think he should remain.
"Just tell me that you like me in the same sentence as a building." He wants/needs to be told that he's viewed as strong by someone who is apparently important to him...a parent, friend, spouse, etc.
Hey, what do I know. I just know it's an unbelievable song (lyrcially) and NOBODY has taken the time to decipher it. (I probably have not deciphered it either, but I gave it my best shot:) Shoot me down, but PLEASE just add to the song interpretation. I hate not knowing something!
I always enjoy reading other peoples' interpretations of songs. It kind of gives the song a new light.
But I just kind of take this song for face value. He repeats many times how it would be a relief to be a natural thing. I see it as he'd like to be seen as a natural thing or like he's serving his purpose. We place so much value and pressure on humans, but we're just as natural as a mountain side or a dresser. Maybe it would be a nice relief to not think any more than these objects and to just know why we are here: To be a natural thing//Just like anything...
—as I understand it, objectified, as expressed in Lewis’s singular & magical way, is a philosophical musing on the weight (not light) of being —the cycle of mortality, “...children are clumsy people...old people are rotting children...”
This is why to be objectified IS a relief— it means embracing the emptiness; nothingness, living as a “natural THING; just like any THING.”
Think about it & be honest: We fuck up a LOT in objectifying people; ideas, too. I mean, I adore Jeffrey Lewis via his music & art; does that mean I objective him? Um, yeah, probably. (That’s for another day).
In any event, there is reality & “reality,” which is gorgeous & horrible— there are magnificent sunsets, majestic mountains, & yes, pale-pink seashells & buildings we “live” in— & we collect stuff & assign all kinds of meanings to them, & as I’m writing this, I’m thinking of those 2 lines in Governors on Sominex (DC. Berman), where he wrote, “Souvenirs only reminded you of buying them...[and] Somehow the sea was always there to make you feel stupid.”
I didn’t even get to touch on love! I’d like to, but not now.
Hi Olivia! It’s me, Olivia— I like your interpretation, but I suspect you should have stopped before you raced to the 3rd paragraph:
1.I think you meant “objectify” when you wrote “objective.”
3.Don’t worry. Nobody is reading this post, anyway : )
Love, Olivia