"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.
Blonde hair blowin' in the summer wind
A blue-eyed girl playing in the sand
I'd been on a trail for a little while
But that was the night that she broke down and held my hand
The teenage rush, she said, 'maybe I'll just runaway, we got time'
Well that ain't much...
We can't wait 'til tomorrow
You gotta know that this is real, baby why you wanna fight it?
It's the one thing you can choose, oh!
We got engaged on a Friday night
I swore on the head of our unborn child that I could take care of the three of us
But I got the tendency to slip when the nights get wild.
It's in my blood
She says she might just runaway somewhere else, some place good
We can't wait 'til tomorrow
You gotta know that this is real, baby why you wanna fight it?
It's the one thing you can choose
Let's take a chance baby we can't lose
And we're all just runaways
I knew that when I met you, I'm not gonna let you runaway
I knew that when I held you, I wasn't lettin' go
We used to look at the stars and confess our dreams
Hold each other to the morning light
We used to laugh, now we only fight
Baby are you lonesome now?
At night I come home after they go to sleep
Like a stumbling ghost, I haunt these halls
There's a picture of us on our wedding day
I recognize the girl but I can't settle in these walls
We can't wait 'til tomorrow
No we're caught up in the appeal, baby why you wanna hide it?
It's the last thing on my mind
(Why you wanna hide it?)
I turn the engine over and my body just comes alive and we all just runaway
I knew that when I met you, I'm not gonna let you runaway
I knew that when I held you, I wasn't lettin go, no no no!
(No no no!)
(And we're all just runaways)
Yeah runaway
(And we're all just runaways)
Yeah
A blue-eyed girl playing in the sand
I'd been on a trail for a little while
But that was the night that she broke down and held my hand
The teenage rush, she said, 'maybe I'll just runaway, we got time'
Well that ain't much...
We can't wait 'til tomorrow
You gotta know that this is real, baby why you wanna fight it?
It's the one thing you can choose, oh!
We got engaged on a Friday night
I swore on the head of our unborn child that I could take care of the three of us
But I got the tendency to slip when the nights get wild.
It's in my blood
She says she might just runaway somewhere else, some place good
We can't wait 'til tomorrow
You gotta know that this is real, baby why you wanna fight it?
It's the one thing you can choose
Let's take a chance baby we can't lose
And we're all just runaways
I knew that when I met you, I'm not gonna let you runaway
I knew that when I held you, I wasn't lettin' go
We used to look at the stars and confess our dreams
Hold each other to the morning light
We used to laugh, now we only fight
Baby are you lonesome now?
At night I come home after they go to sleep
Like a stumbling ghost, I haunt these halls
There's a picture of us on our wedding day
I recognize the girl but I can't settle in these walls
We can't wait 'til tomorrow
No we're caught up in the appeal, baby why you wanna hide it?
It's the last thing on my mind
(Why you wanna hide it?)
I turn the engine over and my body just comes alive and we all just runaway
I knew that when I met you, I'm not gonna let you runaway
I knew that when I held you, I wasn't lettin go, no no no!
(No no no!)
(And we're all just runaways)
Yeah runaway
(And we're all just runaways)
Yeah
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
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.
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
This seems like such a sweet/sad song. In a few ways it reminds me of my boyfriend and me.
Anyways, I think this song starts off about the days from when they were a young couple, obviously. But it really means something to the guy that he was able to get her to finally go out him. After he got her pregnant, they got engaged and made things work. Over the years things he got difficult and sometimes she wants to leave and run away. Sometimes even the guy in the marriage is slacking and he knows it. But in the end, he knew from the start that he always loved her and was not going to let her go and as the song lyric says, he wasn't going to let her run away, he wasn't going to let her go. So even when things get bad and rough and the marriage might end, he thinks back to how wonderful things were in the beginning and holds onto that to keep things going.
I think it certainly has a bittersweet message, but I like to see it on the more hopeful note. :)