"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.
I might never be your knight in shinin' armor
I might never be the one you take home to mother
And I might never be the one who brings you flowers
But I can be the one, be the one tonight
When I first saw you
From across the room
I could tell that you were curious, oh, yeah
Girl, I hope you're sure
What you're looking for
'Cause I'm not good at making promises
But if you like causing trouble up in hotel rooms
And if you like having secret little rendezvous
If you like to do the things you know that we shouldn't do
Then baby, I'm perfect
Baby, I'm perfect for you
And if you like midnight driving with the windows down
And if you like going places we can't even pronounce
If you like to do whatever you've been dreaming about
Then baby, you're perfect
Baby, you're perfect
So let's start right now
I might never be the hands you put your heart in
Or the arms that hold you any time you want them
But that don't mean that we can't live here in the moment
'Cause I can be the one you love from time to time
When I first saw you
From across the room
I could tell that you were curious, oh, yeah
Girl, I hope you're sure
What you're looking for
'Cause I'm not good at making promises
But if you like causing trouble up in hotel rooms
And if you like having secret little rendezvous
If you like to do the things you know that we shouldn't do
Then baby, I'm perfect
Baby, I'm perfect for you
And if you like midnight driving with the windows down
And if you like going places we can't even pronounce
If you like to do whatever you've been dreaming about
Then baby, you're perfect
Baby, you're perfect
So let's start right now
And if you like cameras flashin' every time we go out
Oh, yeah
And if you're looking for someone to write your breakup songs about
Baby, I'm perfect
Baby, we're perfect
If you like causing trouble up in hotel rooms
And if you like having secret little rendezvous
If you like to do the things you know that we shouldn't do
Then baby, I'm perfect
Baby, I'm perfect for you
And if you like midnight driving with the windows down
And if you like going places we can't even pronounce
If you like to do whatever you've been dreaming about
Then baby, you're perfect
Baby, you're perfect
So let's start right now
I might never be the one you take home to mother
And I might never be the one who brings you flowers
But I can be the one, be the one tonight
When I first saw you
From across the room
I could tell that you were curious, oh, yeah
Girl, I hope you're sure
What you're looking for
'Cause I'm not good at making promises
But if you like causing trouble up in hotel rooms
And if you like having secret little rendezvous
If you like to do the things you know that we shouldn't do
Then baby, I'm perfect
Baby, I'm perfect for you
And if you like midnight driving with the windows down
And if you like going places we can't even pronounce
If you like to do whatever you've been dreaming about
Then baby, you're perfect
Baby, you're perfect
So let's start right now
I might never be the hands you put your heart in
Or the arms that hold you any time you want them
But that don't mean that we can't live here in the moment
'Cause I can be the one you love from time to time
When I first saw you
From across the room
I could tell that you were curious, oh, yeah
Girl, I hope you're sure
What you're looking for
'Cause I'm not good at making promises
But if you like causing trouble up in hotel rooms
And if you like having secret little rendezvous
If you like to do the things you know that we shouldn't do
Then baby, I'm perfect
Baby, I'm perfect for you
And if you like midnight driving with the windows down
And if you like going places we can't even pronounce
If you like to do whatever you've been dreaming about
Then baby, you're perfect
Baby, you're perfect
So let's start right now
And if you like cameras flashin' every time we go out
Oh, yeah
And if you're looking for someone to write your breakup songs about
Baby, I'm perfect
Baby, we're perfect
If you like causing trouble up in hotel rooms
And if you like having secret little rendezvous
If you like to do the things you know that we shouldn't do
Then baby, I'm perfect
Baby, I'm perfect for you
And if you like midnight driving with the windows down
And if you like going places we can't even pronounce
If you like to do whatever you've been dreaming about
Then baby, you're perfect
Baby, you're perfect
So let's start right now
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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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”
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Great version of a great song,
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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.
I love the lyric: "If you like to do the things you know that we shouldn’t do Baby, I'm perfect Baby, I'm perfect for you"
As long as we don't do the midnight driving while talking on the phone And the places we can't pronounce aren't in the midst of a civil war And the hotel staff doesn't discover a dead body in our room after we check out And those breakup songs are about your breakups with other people And...well, you get the idea Then Mr Narrator baby, I'm perfect for you too!