"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.
Some people I know have given up on their lives
Drowning their sorrows, and mumblin', and forgot the fight
We can tip the balance we can break those barriers down
Little things count as much as the big and turn it all around
And it's oh, don't always look at the rain
No, don't look at the rain
Some people I know have lost their feel for mystery
They say everything has got to be proved, this isn't a nursery
And joseph who's five years old, stops fights in his playground yard
No more fights and bigotry, oh is it so hard
And it's oh, don't always look at the rain
No, don't always look at the rain
Ha, don't always look at the rain
And tell me, is it a crime to have an ideal or two
Evolving takes it's time, we can't do it all in one go
Doesn't have to drive us all mad, we can only do our best
Let the mind shut up, and the heart do the rest
Drowning their sorrows, and mumblin', and forgot the fight
We can tip the balance we can break those barriers down
Little things count as much as the big and turn it all around
And it's oh, don't always look at the rain
No, don't look at the rain
Some people I know have lost their feel for mystery
They say everything has got to be proved, this isn't a nursery
And joseph who's five years old, stops fights in his playground yard
No more fights and bigotry, oh is it so hard
And it's oh, don't always look at the rain
No, don't always look at the rain
Ha, don't always look at the rain
And tell me, is it a crime to have an ideal or two
Evolving takes it's time, we can't do it all in one go
Doesn't have to drive us all mad, we can only do our best
Let the mind shut up, and the heart do the rest
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
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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”
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
The meaning here is more obvious when you realize the Howard Jones is a Buddhist. Life may be pain, but there are bright spots, little things that can make all the difference.
Sometimes it may be attractive to stop and focus on all the bad things in this life, but Howard suggests that we don't stop for long, that we continue to work toward improving ourselves and our outlook on life.