"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.
When the hills let go
Slowly fade into the water like some ancient lover
On a ship filled with ghosts
It's something to behold
When the paper thin girls
With twisting little braids in their hair,
They take off their coats and throw
Pebbles and stones from the side of the boat,
Crying out
The stones they float, the stones they float
Oh my God, the stones they float, the stones they float
Down the burning ropes
Past the places where the steal beams meet concrete skies
You make your bed under the moonlight
I think it's time we said goodbye
Cause nothing moves in the warm air
And words that once would cut like a knife,
They just hang in the cloud and you're
Pushed by the lord,
But you're pulled by the crowds and
You're overboard, you're overboard
Oh my God, she's overboard
My love she's overboard
She's overboard
My love she's over board
Not a shell unbroken
In the valley where my heartache and the timbers lay
It's not the time to be hanging around here
You know what some might say
That people get too reckless
That even with the simplest of crimes
They leave, blood behind,
As I clean the knife for the very last time
I think she knows, I think she knows
Oh my God, I think she knows
I think she knows
Slowly fade into the water like some ancient lover
On a ship filled with ghosts
It's something to behold
When the paper thin girls
With twisting little braids in their hair,
They take off their coats and throw
Pebbles and stones from the side of the boat,
Crying out
The stones they float, the stones they float
Oh my God, the stones they float, the stones they float
Down the burning ropes
Past the places where the steal beams meet concrete skies
You make your bed under the moonlight
I think it's time we said goodbye
Cause nothing moves in the warm air
And words that once would cut like a knife,
They just hang in the cloud and you're
Pushed by the lord,
But you're pulled by the crowds and
You're overboard, you're overboard
Oh my God, she's overboard
My love she's overboard
She's overboard
My love she's over board
Not a shell unbroken
In the valley where my heartache and the timbers lay
It's not the time to be hanging around here
You know what some might say
That people get too reckless
That even with the simplest of crimes
They leave, blood behind,
As I clean the knife for the very last time
I think she knows, I think she knows
Oh my God, I think she knows
I think she knows
Lyrics submitted by kariboetje, edited by ThusItWas
Down the Burning Ropes Lyrics as written by James Mcmorrow
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
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,
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.
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/
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
I think it's about his ill-fated trip to America (where the steel beams meet concrete sky) to record an album and it went to shit.
It's about the stark difference between his home life and the Big Machine. Ireland made him and it gave him his love for music (the lover that later goes overboard). Pushed by the Lord (natural musical gifts and love for it) but pulled by the crowd (promise of reaching a wider audience).
When the hills let go and slip into the water can be seen as literally watching Home fade away into the distance as you travel. He seems to be saying that the ghosts and paper thin girls (stereotypical Hollywood types) were with him from the beginning of the journey and he didn't like it from the start.
The stones they float. This I think is echoed later when he talks about words that would normally cut like a knife. The stones that they throw from the side of the boat I imagine can be viewed like 'sticks and stones' in that the way they speak (to him) is harsh and hurtful. Rather than sink like the paper thin girls are used to they float in the air for James as he's not used to hearing it.
He went to make some money so he could keep doing what he loves (the simplest of crimes) but betrayed his love (leaving blood behind). He then worries that "she knows". He's betrayed his God-given gifts and she knows it, will she forgive him?
By the sound of the album which he made once BACK in the UK, I'd say she did. Amazing album and this is potentially the best song on it.