"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.
Looks like these afternoons of reverie through
What's left for me to say? What's left for me to do?
Float along and feel the water on my back
Try not to sink down to the bottom
Hollow my head it echoes like a wooden drum
Peel back my skin and make my ribs a xylophone
Feel the water rise and fall between my bones
And then just sink down to the bottom
It's a simple love affair
Dangerous and true
Her arms are all around reaching out for you
She's a siren in the night with streaks of red and blue
And know you've disappeared you'll know she will get you through
She'll come to the rescue
It's a simple love affair
Dangerous and true
Her arms are all around and reaching out for you
She's a siren in the night with tricks of red and blue
And know you've disappeared you'll know she'll get you through
She'll come to the rescue
What's left for me to say? What's left for me to do?
Float along and feel the water on my back
Try not to sink down to the bottom
Hollow my head it echoes like a wooden drum
Peel back my skin and make my ribs a xylophone
Feel the water rise and fall between my bones
And then just sink down to the bottom
It's a simple love affair
Dangerous and true
Her arms are all around reaching out for you
She's a siren in the night with streaks of red and blue
And know you've disappeared you'll know she will get you through
She'll come to the rescue
It's a simple love affair
Dangerous and true
Her arms are all around and reaching out for you
She's a siren in the night with tricks of red and blue
And know you've disappeared you'll know she'll get you through
She'll come to the rescue
Lyrics submitted by julienmueller, edited by Kwask
Hercules Lyrics as written by Brian A Rosenworcel Adam S Gardner
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is my new favorite Guster song! I think its about a love affair. Someone you can lean on but you know you shouldn't.
It almost seems like it could be about some type of drug, with the drug referred to as 'she' in the song. Or maybe it's just about a woman, but that seems a little too literal. Either way, the banjo is awesome.
It should be streaks of red and blue, not tricks. And "though you've disappeared," not know. Plus "you know she'll get you through" not "you'll know."<br /> <br /> I love this song, but it sounds a lot more like Odysseus (AKA Ulysses) than Hercules, what with the Siren and all the water. I would love to know why they named it Hercules.<br /> <br /> Still love the song, though. To me it's about an odyssey, where someone has to go through a lot and sometimes it feels like it's all over, and maybe you even trust someone who looks and sounds good but is really all wrong. I don't think the Siren is coming to the rescue, however.<br /> <br /> It's interesting to me all the water on this album.
The message I get from this song--especially the first two stanzas--is "Do what you want with me; I know I'm doomed". It seems like the singer has sacrificed his well-being for something/someone he loves, but in more of a selfish way than anything else, and he's realized too late that he made the wrong choice. That's how I see it, anyhow.
@deweywins, I thought the same about Odysseus vs. Hercules. And I never noticed how much this album mentions water. That's a good point.