"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.
Slowly she turns away
Oh, don't look anymore
There's only stillness
No more air can he draw
No time to say goodbye
No last little kiss
No life where bullets fly
And now it comes to this
What's left in her world
The child's gone
Softly she whispers
Where did I go wrong
My future, my baby
Tell me what's goin' on
No light in mother's eyes
Nothing you can say
No reason for the whys
She'll ask every day
What's left for the world
The child's gone
Oh, don't look anymore
There's only stillness
No more air can he draw
No time to say goodbye
No last little kiss
No life where bullets fly
And now it comes to this
What's left in her world
The child's gone
Softly she whispers
Where did I go wrong
My future, my baby
Tell me what's goin' on
No light in mother's eyes
Nothing you can say
No reason for the whys
She'll ask every day
What's left for the world
The child's gone
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by ZoeeHunter
Mother's Eyes Lyrics as written by Niven Cook
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, JACK RUSSELL MUSIC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, STARVING ARTIST, LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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Fast Car
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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.
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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This song is about a mother whose child has died.
Slowly she turns away / Oh, don't look anymore (She sees the body of her child) There's only stillness / No more air can he draw (The child isn’t breathing, he’s dead)
No time to say goodbye / No last little kiss No life where bullets fly / And now it comes to this (The child died because he was shot)
What's left in her world / The child's gone (The mother has nothing left to live for without her child)
Softly she whispers / Where did I go wrong (She blames herself for the child’s death) My future, my baby / Tell me what's goin' on (She’s confused about what will become of her life now)
No light in mother's eyes / Nothing you can say (She seems to be lifeless and nothing anyone says will make her feel otherwise) No reason for the whys / She'll ask every day (She will never know why her child died)
What's left in her world / The child's gone (The mother has nothing left to live for without her child)
When I hear this song I think about the school shots that happen all too often. But the age of the child is never mentioned so he could be older than assumed. If he is older, his death could be gang related or even a random act of violence.