"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.
Black flies on the windowsill
That we are
That we are
That we are to know
Winter stole summer's thrill
And the river's cracked and cold
See the sky is no man's land
A darkened plume to stay
Hope here needs a humble hand
Not a fox found in your place
And no man is an island, this I know
But can't you see? Oh
Maybe you were the ocean when I was just a stone
Black flies on the windowsill
That we are
That we are
That we are to hold
Comfort came against my will
And every story must grow old
Still, I'll be a traveler
A gypsy's reins to face
But the road is wearier
With that fool found in your place
And no man is an island, this I know
But can't you see? Oh
Maybe you were the ocean when I was just a stone
No man is an island, this I know
But can't you see?
Maybe you were the ocean when I was just a stone
So here we are
And I don't wanna beg your pardon
And I don't wanna ask you why
But if I was to go my own way
Would I have to pass you by?
Oh, I don't wanna beg your pardon
And I don't wanna ask you why
But if I was to go my own way
Would I have to pass you by?
That we are
That we are
That we are to know
Winter stole summer's thrill
And the river's cracked and cold
See the sky is no man's land
A darkened plume to stay
Hope here needs a humble hand
Not a fox found in your place
And no man is an island, this I know
But can't you see? Oh
Maybe you were the ocean when I was just a stone
Black flies on the windowsill
That we are
That we are
That we are to hold
Comfort came against my will
And every story must grow old
Still, I'll be a traveler
A gypsy's reins to face
But the road is wearier
With that fool found in your place
And no man is an island, this I know
But can't you see? Oh
Maybe you were the ocean when I was just a stone
No man is an island, this I know
But can't you see?
Maybe you were the ocean when I was just a stone
So here we are
And I don't wanna beg your pardon
And I don't wanna ask you why
But if I was to go my own way
Would I have to pass you by?
Oh, I don't wanna beg your pardon
And I don't wanna ask you why
But if I was to go my own way
Would I have to pass you by?
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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"
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
I loved this song from the first time I heard it, and I have listened to it so many times. Somehow though, just tonight it hit me like an absolute brick to the chest. I'm not even sure I can stand to talk about it right now, and at the same time I feel compelled, even if no one cares. I'm sorry if this is a little jumbled.
The lines that hit me the hardest: "comfort came against my will, every story must grow old." I don't know why i didn't see it before, maybe because it wasn't so personally relevant before. I thought that first line was clever, but couldn't put my finger on it. I get it now. I understand what it feels like when that deep ache that threatens to swallow you whole just ... eases, and it's a very mixed feeling. You want to hold onto the pain, because it's still a type of connection to a relationship that meant so much to you. And when you don't feel that vibrant pain as strongly, the 'story grows old." The idea of it is unbearable, how could it just be over? But comfort has to come. Yet, it 'comes against your will' because you have to 'go your own way' you just wish with all of your heart that going your own way didn't mean 'passing [them] by.'
maybe if hope had had "a humble hand" it wouldn't have turned out this way, but you were a fox instead, and a fool. He invested so much in this friendship, but he couldn't carry it entirely. I think there is also bitterness in the line 'maybe you were the ocean when i was just a stone.' You were so huge and important to my life, and you tossed me about and forgot about me. I was somehow inconsequential to you.
Still I'll be a traveler A gypsy's reins to face But the road is wearier With that fool found in your place
You don't get the option in this life of just giving up because someone tears a part of you up and throws it away like it meant nothing. I'll keep going, Ben says, driven like a gypsy, but I'm changed, and that's not just okay. What you did by me was wrong.
I don't know how he managed to write my soul, but he absolutely did.
@ariel11109 if you’re not too close to Ben’s meaning of the song, at least you’re very close to mine.... an utter brick in the chest