"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 mistake on the part of nature,
You're so fabled, so fair, just sit anywhere,
I've pencil-sketched the scene,
It's feeling byzantine
Mistakes on the part of nature,
The living proof of what they're calling love,
Uncertain sideways streets,
Where things that don't match meet
A mistake on the part of nature,
You are a tall glass, a blast from the past,
Where things were simpler then,
You ask exactly when
A mistake on the part of nature,
It's forgiven, moved on, won't wear my Sunday
Suit to walk that street,
That would feel byzantine
Silhouette tell me a tall tale, go, shout it out,
Silhouette shout from the top,
Sweet talk, Sweet talk
Yeah, Sweet talk, Sweet talk
Amnesia becomes ambition,
Ambition becomes a new sort of,
Charming simplicity,
Like always byzantine
A mistake on the part of nature,
It's forgiven, move on, won't wear my Sunday
Suit to walk that street,
That would feel byzantine
Silhouette tell me a tall tale, go, shout it out,
Silhouette shout from the top,
Sweet talk, Sweet talk
Sweet talk, Sweet talk
Silhouette tell me a tall tale, go, shout it out,
Silhouette shout from the top,
Sweet talk, Sweet talk
Sweet talk, Sweet talk
You're so fabled, so fair, just sit anywhere,
I've pencil-sketched the scene,
It's feeling byzantine
Mistakes on the part of nature,
The living proof of what they're calling love,
Uncertain sideways streets,
Where things that don't match meet
A mistake on the part of nature,
You are a tall glass, a blast from the past,
Where things were simpler then,
You ask exactly when
A mistake on the part of nature,
It's forgiven, moved on, won't wear my Sunday
Suit to walk that street,
That would feel byzantine
Silhouette tell me a tall tale, go, shout it out,
Silhouette shout from the top,
Sweet talk, Sweet talk
Yeah, Sweet talk, Sweet talk
Amnesia becomes ambition,
Ambition becomes a new sort of,
Charming simplicity,
Like always byzantine
A mistake on the part of nature,
It's forgiven, move on, won't wear my Sunday
Suit to walk that street,
That would feel byzantine
Silhouette tell me a tall tale, go, shout it out,
Silhouette shout from the top,
Sweet talk, Sweet talk
Sweet talk, Sweet talk
Silhouette tell me a tall tale, go, shout it out,
Silhouette shout from the top,
Sweet talk, Sweet talk
Sweet talk, Sweet talk
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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,
I tend to interpret songs as chronicling personal relationships, and this one is no exception.
First stanza: "A mistake on the part of nature" could refer to the narrator's love interest, who is "so fabled, so fair" they don't seem to fit into everyday reality. I think "feeling Byzantine" could mean that the experience of the person visiting ("Just sit anywhere") feels like something from another time and place.
Second stanza: "Mistakes on the part of nature / The living proof of / What they're calling love / On certain sideways streets / Where things that don't match meet" - These lines may describe the unpredictable nature of attraction. Love seems to happen just by accident, as people that don't seem to match meet and are drawn together.
Third stanza: The other person seems like "a tall glass" (as in the expression "a tall drink of water"). They are "A blast from the past", which the narrator recalls fondly as being a simpler time -- although their partner is skeptical.
Chorus, part 1: "A mistake on the part of nature / It's forgiven, moved on" - Maybe the relationship didn't work out, so the narrator wants to write it off as a mistake and move forward with his or her life. However, he/she is avoiding the particular place he/she originally met the love interest in, because that would remind him/her too much of the past.
Chorus, part 2: not sure
Fifth stanza: "Amnesia becomes ambition / Ambition becomes a new sort of / Charming simplicity / Like always, Byzantine" - These lines seem to be musing on the cyclic nature of history, perhaps as applied to the narrator's personal experiences. As people forget past failures, they gain new ambitions for the future which may lead to the same problems (or maybe not).