"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.
The more you take, the more you need
The more you suck, the more you bleed
The dead know better, so listen to the letter
The more you suck, the more you bleed
Echoes and spectres and ghosts of none the wiser
Apparitions each, bad decisions brush on by
Envious in the ever after
Electric fuzzy haze of regrets and dreams denied
The paramount and pompous disregard the cipher
Ignorant the gluttons, and the media rush on by these
Messages from the ever after
Dead letter authors' deliverance denied
The more you take the more you need
The more you suck the more you bleed
The dead know better so listen to the letter
The more you suck the more you bleed
Echoes and spectres and ghosts of none the wiser
Apparitions each and bad decisions brush on by
Envious in the ever after
Electric fuzzy haze of regrets and dreams denied
The more you take, the more you need
The more you suck, the more you bleed
The dead know better, so listen to the letter
The more you suck, the more you bleed
The more you take, the more you need
The more you suck, the more you bleed
The dead know better, so listen to the letter
The more you suck, the more you bleed
The more you suck, the more you bleed
The dead know better, so listen to the letter
The more you suck, the more you bleed
Echoes and spectres and ghosts of none the wiser
Apparitions each, bad decisions brush on by
Envious in the ever after
Electric fuzzy haze of regrets and dreams denied
The paramount and pompous disregard the cipher
Ignorant the gluttons, and the media rush on by these
Messages from the ever after
Dead letter authors' deliverance denied
The more you take the more you need
The more you suck the more you bleed
The dead know better so listen to the letter
The more you suck the more you bleed
Echoes and spectres and ghosts of none the wiser
Apparitions each and bad decisions brush on by
Envious in the ever after
Electric fuzzy haze of regrets and dreams denied
The more you take, the more you need
The more you suck, the more you bleed
The dead know better, so listen to the letter
The more you suck, the more you bleed
The more you take, the more you need
The more you suck, the more you bleed
The dead know better, so listen to the letter
The more you suck, the more you bleed
Lyrics submitted by DAMtastychicken
Telling Ghosts Lyrics as written by Joshua Eustis Jeff Friedl
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Alright, I'm taking a major chance here. So I've never been a true fan of Puscifer. But I'm a fan of Maynard. I've been listening to this album a LOT more recently. It certainly doesn't rank as one of his best albums IMPO. But there is something about it that I kept going back to listen. Personally, after numerous times listening to this album. It has dawned on me that this is an album about the personal experience of wine-making. Finding the plot of land. Proving to the Earth that you're adaptable to the surrounding environment. Praying to the skies for rain and suddenly have your prayers answered to be deluged with a flood. But let me give you my personal opinion of what this certain song is about.
This is about how his mother (Judith) is still haunting him in his mind. Even after she passed away. The past coming back to haunt him. His emotions welling up once again. Anger, rage, pain, fury. That's what this song is about. Telling his mother's specter to leave him alone and move on. Horizons (the song after this on the album) is when he finally lets go of her ghost by spreading her ashes on the vineyard. "Dust devil swept you away." Letting go all that anger, rage, pain. Also, it acts as a quiet supplication in a sense for rain. That's what Man Overboard is. The storm coming to flood the land so grapes can grow.
Just my opinion. Let me know what you think.
I think this is a valid interpretation. Very interesting :)
Agreed. This song still has a social subtext though. This song, like most of Maynard's work has a double meaning. <br />
"The more you take, the more you need The more you suck, the more you bleed The dead know better so listen to the letter The more you suck, the more you bleed."
This is describing karma.
"Envious in the ever after Electric fuzzy haze of regrets and dreams denied."
The ghosts of the unhappy dead haunt us in their half light world of "electric fuzzy haze"
Their former lives should speak to us, to be a warning...but fools don't listen or pay attention and soon enough they will join them.
Echoes and specters and ghosts of none the wiser. Apparitions each of bad decisions brush on by. Envious in the ever after. Electric fuzzy haze of regrets and dreams denied.
More you take the more you need. The more you suck the more you bleed. The dead know better, So listen to the letter. The more you suck the more you bleed.
Paramount to pompous, disregard the cipher. Ignorant, the Gluttons and the Needy rush on by these Messages from the ever after. Dead letter office. Deliverance denied.
the "ghosts" make up the greedy, ignorant populace. describing the shallowness of the electric fuzzy haze (tv stars, those seeking wealth, people plugged into the entertainment system)
Get your read on! Try reading some letters from the dead. You might learn a few things. One of my favorites is Posterity: Letters of Great Americans to Their Children.
To me, this song is about all the stupid reasons that people start wars and all the lives wasted because of that. The "telling ghosts" are people who gave their lives to war but realized that it was all pointless when they died. All those greedy, ignorant, gluttonous people are the leaders of countries who seek to take the resources of others. I think the phrase "there's no money in peace" rings true here.
Good interpretation!
This is a song about vampirism as a spiritual state or practice. Showing how it locks you into the prison of karma and greed. The spirits of the dead will tgry to communicate to you that your vampiristic ways are wrong but the gluttonous and ignorqant just ignore and keep sucking,
Ticks & Leeches is that way --->
It's a sad song about how death sees the living and the dead. Telling the living that the more they fight the more it's going to be messy and to learn from the mistakes the dead have left for us, like living to the fullest but also cautioning us to be careful and think things through. The dead telling us that they're envious of our life, that bad decisions were brushed by, regretting what they had done day by day unable to let it go. The electric fuzzy haze is not being able to think clearly and dwelling on the past.
@kimikitty420 what do you mean by the more you fight, the messier it will be?
If you ask me...this song is pretty straightforward.
It works on several levels...especially on the addiction front, which many fans of Maynard know how he's had his own struggles in the past. Struggles that he's written about through his various projects. The more you take, the more you need...that's a lyric I can particularly identify with as a recovering drug addict. But it also works in a general sense as well...we should be taking and giving in equal parts. People who made mistakes, paid for them with their lives, and now...now what they've learned from their lessons, their messages, their wisdom are lost forever. Learn from the mistakes of others. Don't ignore the writing on the wall. Life is fleeting. Enjoy it while it's here. Don't let earth's temptations lead you astray...or you might end up like one of these telling ghosts.
@autumndreams<br /> I totally agree with you!
@Doughboyjoe, you've OBVIOUSLY either NEVER listened to anything maynard has ever fucking written, or you hate him so enjoy trolling everything he does, because FUCKING NEVER is ANYTHING he has EVER FUCKING WRITTEN EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER "straightforward", man. Did I happen to mention "Ever"?
@Yourearealfuckingcunt Yeah sure man I listen to absolutely nothing that Maynard has written that's why I have every single Tool album including Salival and the new one, every single Puscifer album, Remix album, single, and EP, and every single A Perfect Circle album. I also know that "Passive" and "Potions" were originally Tapeworm projects with Trent Reznor and Danny Lohner, I could tell you things YOU Don't even know about MJK who I have seen in concert at least 15 times in all 3 bands and have met him myself personally. But...I don't know what I'm talking about... Oh I know one more thing too... your the type of fan he would love to punch in the face.
@doughboyjoe then you're a fucking autist. Its one of the two