"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.
(Woo) come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on, come on (uh huh, check it out, check it out )
Come on, come on, come on, come on, yeah
(One-two, one-two, one-two, one-two, one two)
Come on, come on, come on, come on
(Check the sound, check the sound, check the sound yeah)
Come on, come on, come on, come on, yeah
(One-two, one-two, one-two, one-two, one two)
Come on, come on, come on, come on
(Check the sound, check the sound, check the sound yeah)
Come on, come on, come on, come on, yeah
(One-two, one-two, one-two, one-two, one two)
Come on, come on, come on, come on
(Check the sound, check the sound, check the sound yeah)
Come on, come on, come on, come on, yeah
(One-two, one-two, one-two, one-two, one two) uh-huh
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
I must admit on some occasions
I went out like a punk and a chump
Or a sucka or something to that effect
Respect I used to never get
'Cause all I got was upset
When niggas used to be like
(What's, up fool?)
And tried to sweat a nigga like the Lip (nigga, what's up?)
For no reason at all I can recall 'cause niggas throwin' Cs in my face
Down the hall, I'm kicking it in the back of the school eating chicken at three
Wonderin' why is everybody always pickin' on me
I tried to talk and tell 'em, "Chill I did nothin' to deserve this"
But when it didn't work I wasn't scared just real nervous and unprepared
To deal with scrappin' no doubt
My pappy never told me how to knock a nigga out
But now in '95 I must survive as a man on my own
Fuck around with Fatlip, yes, ya get blown
I'm not tryin' to show, no macho is shown
But when it's on, when it's on, then it's on
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
One, two, so listen here (come on)
There comes a time in every man's life
When he's gotta handle shit up on his own
Can't depend on friends to help you in a squeeze
Please, they got problems of their own
Down for the count on seven chickenshits don't get to Heaven
'Til they faced these fears in these fear zones
Used to get jacked back up in high school, I played it cool
Just so some real shit won't get full blown bein' where I'm from
They let the smoke come quicker than an evil redneck
Could lynch a helpless colored figure and
As a victim I invented low-key
'Til the keyhole itself got lower than me
So I stood up and let my free form form free (uh-huh)
Said I'm gonna get some before they knockin' out me
I don't sweat it I let the bullshit blow in the breeze, yeah
In other words just debris
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
It's 1995
And now that I'm older, stress weighs on my shoulders
Heavy as boulders but I told y'all (told y'all)
Until the day that I die I still
Will be a soldier and that's all I told ya
And that's all I showed ya and that's all I sold ya
And all this calamity is rippin' my sanity
Can it be that I am a celebrity
Who's on the brink of insanity?
Now don't be wishin' of switchin' any positions with me (me)
'Cause when you in my position, it ain't never easy
To do any type of maintainin'
'Cause all the gamin' and famin' from entertainin'
Is hella strainin' to the brain and
But I can't keep runnin', I just gotta keep keen and cunnin' (cunnin')
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away (uh, yeah)
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away, running away, running away
Can't keep running away, running away, running away (yeah, yeah)
Can't keep running away, running away, running away
You can't keep running away, running away, running away (yeah, yeah)
(Yeah) you can't keep on
Running away, running away, running away (ahh, ahh, ahh)
You can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Come on, come on, come on, come on (uh huh, check it out, check it out )
Come on, come on, come on, come on, yeah
(One-two, one-two, one-two, one-two, one two)
Come on, come on, come on, come on
(Check the sound, check the sound, check the sound yeah)
Come on, come on, come on, come on, yeah
(One-two, one-two, one-two, one-two, one two)
Come on, come on, come on, come on
(Check the sound, check the sound, check the sound yeah)
Come on, come on, come on, come on, yeah
(One-two, one-two, one-two, one-two, one two)
Come on, come on, come on, come on
(Check the sound, check the sound, check the sound yeah)
Come on, come on, come on, come on, yeah
(One-two, one-two, one-two, one-two, one two) uh-huh
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
I must admit on some occasions
I went out like a punk and a chump
Or a sucka or something to that effect
Respect I used to never get
'Cause all I got was upset
When niggas used to be like
(What's, up fool?)
And tried to sweat a nigga like the Lip (nigga, what's up?)
For no reason at all I can recall 'cause niggas throwin' Cs in my face
Down the hall, I'm kicking it in the back of the school eating chicken at three
Wonderin' why is everybody always pickin' on me
I tried to talk and tell 'em, "Chill I did nothin' to deserve this"
But when it didn't work I wasn't scared just real nervous and unprepared
To deal with scrappin' no doubt
My pappy never told me how to knock a nigga out
But now in '95 I must survive as a man on my own
Fuck around with Fatlip, yes, ya get blown
I'm not tryin' to show, no macho is shown
But when it's on, when it's on, then it's on
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
One, two, so listen here (come on)
There comes a time in every man's life
When he's gotta handle shit up on his own
Can't depend on friends to help you in a squeeze
Please, they got problems of their own
Down for the count on seven chickenshits don't get to Heaven
'Til they faced these fears in these fear zones
Used to get jacked back up in high school, I played it cool
Just so some real shit won't get full blown bein' where I'm from
They let the smoke come quicker than an evil redneck
Could lynch a helpless colored figure and
As a victim I invented low-key
'Til the keyhole itself got lower than me
So I stood up and let my free form form free (uh-huh)
Said I'm gonna get some before they knockin' out me
I don't sweat it I let the bullshit blow in the breeze, yeah
In other words just debris
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
It's 1995
And now that I'm older, stress weighs on my shoulders
Heavy as boulders but I told y'all (told y'all)
Until the day that I die I still
Will be a soldier and that's all I told ya
And that's all I showed ya and that's all I sold ya
And all this calamity is rippin' my sanity
Can it be that I am a celebrity
Who's on the brink of insanity?
Now don't be wishin' of switchin' any positions with me (me)
'Cause when you in my position, it ain't never easy
To do any type of maintainin'
'Cause all the gamin' and famin' from entertainin'
Is hella strainin' to the brain and
But I can't keep runnin', I just gotta keep keen and cunnin' (cunnin')
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away (uh, yeah)
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Can't keep running away, running away, running away
Can't keep running away, running away, running away (yeah, yeah)
Can't keep running away, running away, running away
You can't keep running away, running away, running away (yeah, yeah)
(Yeah) you can't keep on
Running away, running away, running away (ahh, ahh, ahh)
You can't keep running away
Can't keep running away
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Runnin' Lyrics as written by Emandu Wilcox Derrick Lemel Stewart
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, FRANAM PUB ADMINISTRATION, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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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"
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"Some and now none of you"
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Cajun Girl
Little Feat
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Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
I Can't Go To Sleep
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Wu-Tang Clan
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.