"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.
Ayo, A-Trak
We ain't want a lot, man
All we wanted was a fair shot, man
Know where I'm from, the numbers stacked against us, man
Uh, in high school, I was on the court, getting buckets, swish
Then I started gettin' duckets, can't lie, I'm in love with this
The art of getting money, man, my motto was like "Fuck a bitch"
By time I turned thirty, I completed my own bucket list
I don't take threats lightly, careful who you fuckin' with
Dying'll make you way more famous than your publicist
Love, I get to snubbin' it, my life, they wanna publish it
They ain't got enough money, so I keep dubbin' it (adios)
Curved all the talk shows, never doing Unsung
Mary J., '92, here's the 411
I am no dum-dum, Big L, Bloodshed
Hud 6, Google it, forgot where I come from?
Walked around broke, hit a lick, got a lump sum
If you wore jewelry, the wolves was like, "Yum yum" (grr)
Way before stun guns, I stunned 'em, run, run
Tell that, pick up your face, I'm from the slums, hun'
(All I really wanted) Money, cars, clothes, hood respect
(All I really wanted) Clientele in town, brown bags, a good connect
(All I really wanted, what else?) Play ball, sell drugs, maybe get a record deal
(All I really wanted, tell 'em) Private jet, island, a girl with some sex appeal
Grew up around nonsense, mistrust, foolery (yeah)
Bullets and gun smoke, murder, wake, eulogy (RIP)
Niggas ain't used to me, nothin' you can do with me
Bad bitches move with me, usually two of me
And they love nudity, stupid, this nothin' new to me
Only thing they ask if I can pay they Uber fee (sure)
Truthfully, like my shoestrings, they get loose for me
Let 'em take pictures on the 'Gram in my jewelry
Dipset, Fool's Gold, y'all drinking old gold
Diamond out the rough, man, I wrapped it up in rose gold
Real life, no lie, the game made me so cold
But it's in a stupor, sleeper, chokehold
Shout out to Brooklyn, yeah, my niggas RORO
Kidnap your children, you should let your ho know
Yeah, we take it too far, but these are true bars
Bad bitch, mad weed, and new car is
(All I really wanted) Money, cars, clothes, hood respect
(All I really wanted) Clientele in town, brown bags, a good connect
(All I really wanted, what else?) Play ball, sell drugs, maybe get a record deal
(All I really wanted, tell 'em) Private jet, island, a girl with some sex appeal
Understood in my hood, that's the way we go
You know where I'm from, dog
Understood in my hood
Know what I'm sayin'? This heartfelt
That's the way we go
Real life shit, that's the way we go
Killa, A-Trak, that's the way we go
Understood in my hood
A-Trak, let's take 'em to church
That's the way we go
We ain't want a lot, man
All we wanted was a fair shot, man
Know where I'm from, the numbers stacked against us, man
Uh, in high school, I was on the court, getting buckets, swish
Then I started gettin' duckets, can't lie, I'm in love with this
The art of getting money, man, my motto was like "Fuck a bitch"
By time I turned thirty, I completed my own bucket list
I don't take threats lightly, careful who you fuckin' with
Dying'll make you way more famous than your publicist
Love, I get to snubbin' it, my life, they wanna publish it
They ain't got enough money, so I keep dubbin' it (adios)
Curved all the talk shows, never doing Unsung
Mary J., '92, here's the 411
I am no dum-dum, Big L, Bloodshed
Hud 6, Google it, forgot where I come from?
Walked around broke, hit a lick, got a lump sum
If you wore jewelry, the wolves was like, "Yum yum" (grr)
Way before stun guns, I stunned 'em, run, run
Tell that, pick up your face, I'm from the slums, hun'
(All I really wanted) Money, cars, clothes, hood respect
(All I really wanted) Clientele in town, brown bags, a good connect
(All I really wanted, what else?) Play ball, sell drugs, maybe get a record deal
(All I really wanted, tell 'em) Private jet, island, a girl with some sex appeal
Grew up around nonsense, mistrust, foolery (yeah)
Bullets and gun smoke, murder, wake, eulogy (RIP)
Niggas ain't used to me, nothin' you can do with me
Bad bitches move with me, usually two of me
And they love nudity, stupid, this nothin' new to me
Only thing they ask if I can pay they Uber fee (sure)
Truthfully, like my shoestrings, they get loose for me
Let 'em take pictures on the 'Gram in my jewelry
Dipset, Fool's Gold, y'all drinking old gold
Diamond out the rough, man, I wrapped it up in rose gold
Real life, no lie, the game made me so cold
But it's in a stupor, sleeper, chokehold
Shout out to Brooklyn, yeah, my niggas RORO
Kidnap your children, you should let your ho know
Yeah, we take it too far, but these are true bars
Bad bitch, mad weed, and new car is
(All I really wanted) Money, cars, clothes, hood respect
(All I really wanted) Clientele in town, brown bags, a good connect
(All I really wanted, what else?) Play ball, sell drugs, maybe get a record deal
(All I really wanted, tell 'em) Private jet, island, a girl with some sex appeal
Understood in my hood, that's the way we go
You know where I'm from, dog
Understood in my hood
Know what I'm sayin'? This heartfelt
That's the way we go
Real life shit, that's the way we go
Killa, A-Trak, that's the way we go
Understood in my hood
A-Trak, let's take 'em to church
That's the way we go
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
All I Really Wanted Lyrics as written by Cameron Giles Alain Macklovitch
Lyrics © GREAT SOUTH BAY MUSIC GROUP INC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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/
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.