"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.
I've never been kissed before
It's been on my list before
A flick of the wrist before would do
But when you get down to it
It's got a good sound to it
Don't meddle around with it
'Cause it's far too wet to woo
When mummy and daddy play
They tell me to go away
But by hanging around
I can learn all the rules
Now I got the technique
I'm away
Develop a taste for it
A time and a place for it
Although on the face of it, it's a crime
I've nibbled the cheese of it
The birds and the bees of it
Are weak at the knees
From making honey
Every time
I'm throwing my toys away
I'm leaving the boys to play
With the boys
Gimme girls
And it's time I was breaking away
Just gimme some head room
Just a little bit of head room
I need some leg room
Just a little bit of leg room
I see myself oh lord
I see a mess
I'm making a meal of it
I'm breaking the seal of it
I'm getting the feel of what to do
It's got a good ring to it
I'm getting a thing for it
And if there's a sting in it
I'll have met my waterloo
My mummy and daddy said
You're liable to wind up dead
Ooh, they've been shooting me a line
Maybe it doesn't exist at all
Ooh, I've been towing the line
Now I'm hook line and sinker-ed
I've never been kissed before
It's been on my list before
A flick of the wrist before would do
But when you get down to it
It's got a good sound to it
Don't meddle around with it
'Cause it's far too wet to woo
I've thrown all my toys away
I'm leaving the boys to play
With the girls that you get
For a dollar a day
When you pull on their strings they say
Just give me some head room
Just a little bit of head room
I need a ball room
Up against the wall room
I need the rest, oh Lord
I need the rest
Just gimme some head room
Just a little bit of head room
Take me to your bedroom
Show a little bit of leg room
I need the rest, oh Lord
I need the rest
Just gimme some head room
Just a little bit of head room
I need some head room
Just a little bit of head room
I need the rest, oh Lord
I need the rest
Just gimme some head room
Just a little bit of head room
I need some head room
Just a little bit of head room
I need the rest, oh Lord
I need the rest
It's been on my list before
A flick of the wrist before would do
But when you get down to it
It's got a good sound to it
Don't meddle around with it
'Cause it's far too wet to woo
When mummy and daddy play
They tell me to go away
But by hanging around
I can learn all the rules
Now I got the technique
I'm away
Develop a taste for it
A time and a place for it
Although on the face of it, it's a crime
I've nibbled the cheese of it
The birds and the bees of it
Are weak at the knees
From making honey
Every time
I'm throwing my toys away
I'm leaving the boys to play
With the boys
Gimme girls
And it's time I was breaking away
Just gimme some head room
Just a little bit of head room
I need some leg room
Just a little bit of leg room
I see myself oh lord
I see a mess
I'm making a meal of it
I'm breaking the seal of it
I'm getting the feel of what to do
It's got a good ring to it
I'm getting a thing for it
And if there's a sting in it
I'll have met my waterloo
My mummy and daddy said
You're liable to wind up dead
Ooh, they've been shooting me a line
Maybe it doesn't exist at all
Ooh, I've been towing the line
Now I'm hook line and sinker-ed
I've never been kissed before
It's been on my list before
A flick of the wrist before would do
But when you get down to it
It's got a good sound to it
Don't meddle around with it
'Cause it's far too wet to woo
I've thrown all my toys away
I'm leaving the boys to play
With the girls that you get
For a dollar a day
When you pull on their strings they say
Just give me some head room
Just a little bit of head room
I need a ball room
Up against the wall room
I need the rest, oh Lord
I need the rest
Just gimme some head room
Just a little bit of head room
Take me to your bedroom
Show a little bit of leg room
I need the rest, oh Lord
I need the rest
Just gimme some head room
Just a little bit of head room
I need some head room
Just a little bit of head room
I need the rest, oh Lord
I need the rest
Just gimme some head room
Just a little bit of head room
I need some head room
Just a little bit of head room
I need the rest, oh Lord
I need the rest
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Head Room Lyrics as written by Kevin Godley Lol Creme
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION
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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"
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
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/