"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.
We inaugurate the evening
Just drumming up a little weirdness
It gets late so early now
The waves come in in mountain phases
Linked in posibilities
Branching posibilities
I'd see fire where it's not supposed to be
In the empty library, at super time
By the respirating basement door
The dog eats out of an old tambourine on the floor
I've been told you can live a long long time on the love of a dog
And that things get bitter and bad when the people are wrong
And sleep can be had for the price of a song
Late in the day, when the options are gone
When the seatbelt is the only hug you've felt in weeks
When wrong numbers are the totality of your social life
The obscure strategies of wildlife
Only flummox the hell out of you kid
I first saw her in a mega store
The day glow raven born into a free fall
Like plastic easter basket grass
Falling from an overpass
The fulfillment of a 10th grade prophecy
A motel masterpiece
Blind to the branching possibilities
Blind to linked impossibilities
Teardrops were standing in my eyes
Like deer before they bolt
It was like I was stretching my arm through the cat-door to heaven
I was thinking
I could lick the frosting off these summer days
If the nights were half as sweet
Me, like a banged up dog walking half sideways
I adored the way she modified my mornings
When I'd wake up in the calm shoals of her bed
Somersaults and smoke in a universe of sleep
Before she slipped into her heritage and disappeared
And now every second thought is of control
I guess in a way I long to be rad
When I was with her it felt wrong to be sad
Did I tell you an angel finally came and shut my mouth?
There was a smile and a tear in her voice too
And she taught me to relight, relight and relight again
You tell me you can live a long long time on the love of a dog
Things get bitter and bad
sleep can be had
Late in the day when the options are gone
Please let your eyes be a friend to me again
Its just malfunctioning teardrops
A cowboy overflow of the heart
Just drumming up a little weirdness
It gets late so early now
The waves come in in mountain phases
Linked in posibilities
Branching posibilities
I'd see fire where it's not supposed to be
In the empty library, at super time
By the respirating basement door
The dog eats out of an old tambourine on the floor
I've been told you can live a long long time on the love of a dog
And that things get bitter and bad when the people are wrong
And sleep can be had for the price of a song
Late in the day, when the options are gone
When the seatbelt is the only hug you've felt in weeks
When wrong numbers are the totality of your social life
The obscure strategies of wildlife
Only flummox the hell out of you kid
I first saw her in a mega store
The day glow raven born into a free fall
Like plastic easter basket grass
Falling from an overpass
The fulfillment of a 10th grade prophecy
A motel masterpiece
Blind to the branching possibilities
Blind to linked impossibilities
Teardrops were standing in my eyes
Like deer before they bolt
It was like I was stretching my arm through the cat-door to heaven
I was thinking
I could lick the frosting off these summer days
If the nights were half as sweet
Me, like a banged up dog walking half sideways
I adored the way she modified my mornings
When I'd wake up in the calm shoals of her bed
Somersaults and smoke in a universe of sleep
Before she slipped into her heritage and disappeared
And now every second thought is of control
I guess in a way I long to be rad
When I was with her it felt wrong to be sad
Did I tell you an angel finally came and shut my mouth?
There was a smile and a tear in her voice too
And she taught me to relight, relight and relight again
You tell me you can live a long long time on the love of a dog
Things get bitter and bad
sleep can be had
Late in the day when the options are gone
Please let your eyes be a friend to me again
Its just malfunctioning teardrops
A cowboy overflow of the heart
Lyrics submitted by ArnhemKnight117
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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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.
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
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”
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
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,