"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.
Graceless
Is there a powder to erase this?
Is it dissolvable and tasteless?
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless
I'm trying, but I'm graceless
Don't have the sunny side to face this
I am invisible and weightless
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless
I'm trying, but I'm gone
Through the glass again
Just come and find me
God loves everybody, don't remind me
I took the medicine and I went missing
Just let me hear your voice, just let me listen
Graceless
I figured out how to be faithless
But it would be a shame to waste this
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless
I'm trying, but I'm gone
Through the glass again
Just come and find me
God loves everybody, don't remind me
I took the medicine and I went missing
Just let me hear your voice, just let me listen
All of my thoughts of you
Bullets through rotten fruit
Come apart at the seams
Now I know what dying means
I am not my rosy self
Left my roses on my shelf
Take the wild ones, they're my favorites
It's the side effects that save us
Grace
Put the flowers you find in a vase
If you're dead in the mind it'll brighten the place
Don't let 'em die on the vine, it's a waste
Grace
There's a science to walking through windows
There's a science to walking through windows
There's a science to walking through windows
There's a science to walking through windows without you
All of my thoughts of you
Bullets through rotten fruit
Come apart at the seams
Now I know what dying means
I am not my rosy self
Left my roses on my shelf
Take the wild ones, they're my favorites
It's the side effects that save us
Grace
Put the flowers you find in a vase
If you're dead in the mind it'll brighten the place
Don't let 'em die on the vine, it's a waste
Grace
Grace
Put the flowers you find in a vase
If you're dead in the mind it'll brighten the place
Don't let 'em die on the vine, it's a waste
Grace
Is there a powder to erase this?
Is it dissolvable and tasteless?
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless
I'm trying, but I'm graceless
Don't have the sunny side to face this
I am invisible and weightless
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless
I'm trying, but I'm gone
Through the glass again
Just come and find me
God loves everybody, don't remind me
I took the medicine and I went missing
Just let me hear your voice, just let me listen
Graceless
I figured out how to be faithless
But it would be a shame to waste this
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless
I'm trying, but I'm gone
Through the glass again
Just come and find me
God loves everybody, don't remind me
I took the medicine and I went missing
Just let me hear your voice, just let me listen
All of my thoughts of you
Bullets through rotten fruit
Come apart at the seams
Now I know what dying means
I am not my rosy self
Left my roses on my shelf
Take the wild ones, they're my favorites
It's the side effects that save us
Grace
Put the flowers you find in a vase
If you're dead in the mind it'll brighten the place
Don't let 'em die on the vine, it's a waste
Grace
There's a science to walking through windows
There's a science to walking through windows
There's a science to walking through windows
There's a science to walking through windows without you
All of my thoughts of you
Bullets through rotten fruit
Come apart at the seams
Now I know what dying means
I am not my rosy self
Left my roses on my shelf
Take the wild ones, they're my favorites
It's the side effects that save us
Grace
Put the flowers you find in a vase
If you're dead in the mind it'll brighten the place
Don't let 'em die on the vine, it's a waste
Grace
Grace
Put the flowers you find in a vase
If you're dead in the mind it'll brighten the place
Don't let 'em die on the vine, it's a waste
Grace
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by edrums42, colmar, marcsnitz, evanreyes, kirillna, jahjahjeh, flamebroiledchicken, TheWrongGirl, mgudites, letsgetitright, karlsanchez, Tims, jenrzzz, Guidonator, honeybeebuzz, xxnat
Graceless Lyrics as written by Matthew Donald Berninger Aaron Brooking Dessner
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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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.
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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.
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Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
This song for me is about facing one's own mortality, contrasted with the complications of being alive here and now. It takes a bold and conscious change in perspective, i.e. "walking though the windows", to see the big picture of life and death.
Going through daily life is a graceless endeavor by definition, and Matt Berninger expresses his frustration and sentiments related to the nagging urge to change this, as well as the unpleasantness of having to accept certain things.
"I'm trying, but I'm graceless Don't have the sunny side to face this I am invisible and weightless You can't imagine how I hate this"
The trick to set oneself free is a bold change of perspective, going off the beaten track, "through the glass" and not the door, and perhaps a little madness:
"I'm trying, but I'm gone Through the glass again Just come and find me God loves everybody, don't remind me I took the medicine and I went missing"
Wherever he is in life, mentally and emotionally, he knows God still loves him, and sounds happy and confident, with a deeper understanding of life. "Now I know what dying means", he utters as he reaches an epiphany about his own mortality.
"It's the side effects that save us" is yet another insight about life, about how the unintended or the negative sometimes end up being essential and miraculous.
"Put the flowers you find in a vase" is a plea to value and savor the beauty of being alive, to seize and enjoy the moment. Yet, he emphasizes that to be able to truly reach that understanding one has to let go of worldly concerns, by uttering: "If you're dead in the mind it will brighten the place".
However no matter how enlightened one might feel after reaching an epiphany about life and death, it doesn't come that naturally, nor is it easy. "There's a science to walking through windows", he repeats, referring to breaking free and choosing one's own path, in this case the windows. This is especially hard to achieve all alone, hence he adds "...without you" in the final line. A sincere confession that bares his soul as just another lonely human being who ultimately needs someone to share this insight to be able to truly feel and enjoy it...
I completely agree with your interpretation! Love the way you analysed and explored it :)
I couldn't agree more. I've gotta say you put that all out so beautifully. Thank you for sharing your feelings on this
Your first sentence could be a great summation of this entire album. It is very existential. <br /> The only part I would differ with you on is when you say "he knows God still loves him."<br /> When he says "God loves everybody, don't remind me", I think he's saying that people keep trying to comfort him by telling him about religion, but he doesn't believe, hence being "Graceless".