"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.
Those voices yelling
And the pain is overwhelming
It's a fault line
And yeah I'm guessing
That I should be kind of happy
It's a fault of mine
With all the tension
You still keep me second guessing
'Cause I'm so benign
(Go on, go on, go)
And yeah I know
It's kind of hard to let it go
It's all so asinine
(Go on, go on, go)
We have to figure out
Another way to go
So I can follow, so I can follow
We have to figure out
Another way to go
Betray and degrade me now
I'll savor how
This emptiness defines you
And take from this tortured sound
My hands are bound
This shallowness confines you
I'm never the same
I'm never enough
There's something dead inside me
I fell all alone
And couldn't get up
With no one there to guide me
We have to figure out
Another way to go
So I can follow, so I can follow
We have to figure out
Another way to go
Betray and degrade me now
I'll savor how
This emptiness defines you
And take from this tortured sound
My hands are bound
This shallowness confines you
I'm so sick
You make me sick
I'm so sick
You make me sick
I'm never the same
I'm never enough
There's something dead inside me
Betray and degrade me now
I'll savor how
This emptiness defines you
And take from this tortured sound
My hands are bound
This shallowness confines you
Sick
You make me sick
Sick
You make me sick
And the pain is overwhelming
It's a fault line
And yeah I'm guessing
That I should be kind of happy
It's a fault of mine
With all the tension
You still keep me second guessing
'Cause I'm so benign
(Go on, go on, go)
And yeah I know
It's kind of hard to let it go
It's all so asinine
(Go on, go on, go)
We have to figure out
Another way to go
So I can follow, so I can follow
We have to figure out
Another way to go
Betray and degrade me now
I'll savor how
This emptiness defines you
And take from this tortured sound
My hands are bound
This shallowness confines you
I'm never the same
I'm never enough
There's something dead inside me
I fell all alone
And couldn't get up
With no one there to guide me
We have to figure out
Another way to go
So I can follow, so I can follow
We have to figure out
Another way to go
Betray and degrade me now
I'll savor how
This emptiness defines you
And take from this tortured sound
My hands are bound
This shallowness confines you
I'm so sick
You make me sick
I'm so sick
You make me sick
I'm never the same
I'm never enough
There's something dead inside me
Betray and degrade me now
I'll savor how
This emptiness defines you
And take from this tortured sound
My hands are bound
This shallowness confines you
Sick
You make me sick
Sick
You make me sick
Lyrics submitted by MusicFREAK20
Betray and Degrade Lyrics as written by Shaun Morgan Welgemoed
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
The song is about failing to resist addiction.
Those voices yelling And the pain is overwhelming (Cravings/his thoughts telling him to relapse and the pains of withdrawal) It's a fault line (The thing he's addicted too is his weakness) And yeah I'm guessing That I should be kind of happy (In a way regardless of the pain he should be happy he's resisting) It's a fault of mine
With all the tension You still keep me second guessing (The feelings of withdrawal make him contemplate weather he should relapse or not) 'Cause I'm so benign Go on, go on, go (Voices telling him it's not so bad to relapse and to relapse) And yeah I know It's kind of hard to let it go It's all so asinine (He knows it's hard to resist and how relapsing is foolish) Go on, go on, go
We have to figure out Another way to go So I can follow, so I can follow We have to figure out Another way to go (He's relapsed and has to figure out a way to resist)
Betray and degrade me now (He cared about and wanted whatever he relapsed to so much but in return it only aided in his self-destruction thus betraying him and he's self loathing himself for relapsing) I'll savor how This emptiness defines you (He thinks that he'll never overcome his addiction and how his addiction will rule and define him) And take from this tortured sound My hands are bound (He's bound to whatever he's addicted too thus he's a slave who's tortured) This shallowness confines you (The thing he's addicted to limits him)
I'm so sick You make me sick I'm so sick You make me sick (He's knows he's not well and he's hating either himself or whatever he's addicted to)
I'm never the same (He's not the same person he was previous to the addiction) I'm never enough (He's never satisfied for long after he relapses) There's something dead inside me (A part of him die's every time he relapses)