"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.
Whoo, yeah, turn it up
Alchemist, you know what to do
Bump that, turn it up, whoo
Crazy daddy
A'yo, why'all niggaz can't fuck with me, my flow's nuclear
Fuck for the month I want the verse of the year
I straighten shit out, you could put me in ya hair
Perm-like bars, burn like scars, cooked up flow in a Pyrex jar
Naw, I ain't the new millennium raw, cool G. or K.R.
I'm just doin' me, Sheek Louch a motherfuckin' hot MC
Don't get it twis', don't get add to my fuck you list, unless you a bitch
Cause I ain't got time, I'm not near rich
We could let it drop or we could let it pop
Make your decision 'fore I make my incision
Head on collision, head-body division
Spirit fly away like a motherfuckin' pigeon
Take that to your grave, y'all niggas behave
[Chorus]
Yeah, D-Block is knockin', turn it up
We got it poppin', turn it up
We comin' for y'all, turn it up
Niggas they droppin', turn it up
We got the streets locked, turn it up
If it's beef let your heat cock, turn it up
Welcome to D-Block, turn it up
Cause we don't fuck around
What, that nigga Sheek is the truth
You would think he had a stripper inside how he go hard in the booth
Lazer on the roof, squeeze off then poof
Presto magic, like where did his chest go?
Think not homie, got a ziploc on me
Of that sticky icky in the pocket of my Dickie
Just drunk a half of sixty, kinda bended
Hat low, knockin', bout to fuck up the rented
I'm a general, I stepped up from a lieutenant
This is D-Block, join us, don't get offended
Cause I ain't lettin' up and you ain't lettin' off
Plus I already know that most of y'all is soft
The hood love me, put it in the air for me
And boy cop mixtapes if they don't hear from me
Got cake but occasionally you catch me bummy
I'm too smart on the streets you fuckin' dummy
[Chorus]
A'yo, real niggas relate to me
Jealous niggas can't wait to send the shell of a tray-eight through me
Don't miss cause it's uh-oh like Lumi
Sun out, Sheek make the sky get gloomy
I bail it all to you, I give you my life
I write it in ink or blood, nigga pass my knife
I'm takin' it there, even if they give me the chair
I'm blacked out in the gear, Huey new in the wear
My fist stuck screamin' black power
I ain't goin' lie, that shit could wash off in the shower
Cause I don't care what color you are
Nigga clap at the kid, the kid tryna levitate your car
I'm not a star
I'm a nigga that'll issue the star
I'm that nigga wit his hammer on him, at the bar
Sheek a straight up crook who got you shook
A'yo Alchemist, bring in the hook
Let's go
[Chorus]
Alchemist, you know what to do
Bump that, turn it up, whoo
Crazy daddy
A'yo, why'all niggaz can't fuck with me, my flow's nuclear
Fuck for the month I want the verse of the year
I straighten shit out, you could put me in ya hair
Perm-like bars, burn like scars, cooked up flow in a Pyrex jar
Naw, I ain't the new millennium raw, cool G. or K.R.
I'm just doin' me, Sheek Louch a motherfuckin' hot MC
Don't get it twis', don't get add to my fuck you list, unless you a bitch
Cause I ain't got time, I'm not near rich
We could let it drop or we could let it pop
Make your decision 'fore I make my incision
Head on collision, head-body division
Spirit fly away like a motherfuckin' pigeon
Take that to your grave, y'all niggas behave
[Chorus]
Yeah, D-Block is knockin', turn it up
We got it poppin', turn it up
We comin' for y'all, turn it up
Niggas they droppin', turn it up
We got the streets locked, turn it up
If it's beef let your heat cock, turn it up
Welcome to D-Block, turn it up
Cause we don't fuck around
What, that nigga Sheek is the truth
You would think he had a stripper inside how he go hard in the booth
Lazer on the roof, squeeze off then poof
Presto magic, like where did his chest go?
Think not homie, got a ziploc on me
Of that sticky icky in the pocket of my Dickie
Just drunk a half of sixty, kinda bended
Hat low, knockin', bout to fuck up the rented
I'm a general, I stepped up from a lieutenant
This is D-Block, join us, don't get offended
Cause I ain't lettin' up and you ain't lettin' off
Plus I already know that most of y'all is soft
The hood love me, put it in the air for me
And boy cop mixtapes if they don't hear from me
Got cake but occasionally you catch me bummy
I'm too smart on the streets you fuckin' dummy
[Chorus]
A'yo, real niggas relate to me
Jealous niggas can't wait to send the shell of a tray-eight through me
Don't miss cause it's uh-oh like Lumi
Sun out, Sheek make the sky get gloomy
I bail it all to you, I give you my life
I write it in ink or blood, nigga pass my knife
I'm takin' it there, even if they give me the chair
I'm blacked out in the gear, Huey new in the wear
My fist stuck screamin' black power
I ain't goin' lie, that shit could wash off in the shower
Cause I don't care what color you are
Nigga clap at the kid, the kid tryna levitate your car
I'm not a star
I'm a nigga that'll issue the star
I'm that nigga wit his hammer on him, at the bar
Sheek a straight up crook who got you shook
A'yo Alchemist, bring in the hook
Let's go
[Chorus]
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Turn It Up Lyrics as written by Sean Jacobs Alan Maman
Lyrics © Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Yo La Tengo
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
No Surprises
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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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
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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
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“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.