"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.
He shouted out his last word
And he stumbled through the yard
And she shattered her last china plate
And spun off in the car
When he lunged onto the hood
She stopped to tell him she'd been wrong
He was thrown head over heels
Into the traffic coming on
But then
All is fair in love
Did you get my other letters
Sometimes I think I oughta call
Cause you know I often
Wonder if you open them at all
Every couple nights or so
You know you pop into my dreams
I just can't get rid of you
Like you got rid of me
Oh but I send my best
Cause God knows you've seen my worst
But then all is fair in love
All this breathing in never breathing out
I guess she made her way
Through the mob too late to hear him say
That he'd gotten all he'd wanted
A crowd to watch him bear the pain
He'd been keeping in
So what
All is fair in love
And he stumbled through the yard
And she shattered her last china plate
And spun off in the car
When he lunged onto the hood
She stopped to tell him she'd been wrong
He was thrown head over heels
Into the traffic coming on
But then
All is fair in love
Did you get my other letters
Sometimes I think I oughta call
Cause you know I often
Wonder if you open them at all
Every couple nights or so
You know you pop into my dreams
I just can't get rid of you
Like you got rid of me
Oh but I send my best
Cause God knows you've seen my worst
But then all is fair in love
All this breathing in never breathing out
I guess she made her way
Through the mob too late to hear him say
That he'd gotten all he'd wanted
A crowd to watch him bear the pain
He'd been keeping in
So what
All is fair in love
Lyrics submitted by kevin, edited by mreartheyes
Fair Lyrics as written by Ben Folds
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Just listening to this album again and I forget how much I love it. This song almost hurts to hear, because we've all been there - when we love someone more than they love us and they dump us. And then we do stupid dramatic things like throw ourselves onto moving cars. And yes, we hurt and want a crowd to acknowledge our pain. Ugh, its painful to listen to this again!
This is one of my favorite Ben Folds Five songs. I know it's not in the lyrics-- but I like the part where they just sing the monosyllabic 'ba' s..."ba BA ba, ba BA ba" .. lol..
I was just wondering-- He goes from third person to first person and back to third again. Is he referring to himself even when he's speaking in third person too? (He/They does/do this in Air too).
All is fair in love and war! I think this is good as it shows the desperation and what some people will do to get the attention of their ex's (like leaping onto a moving car).
great song
in reference to anna118k: i always figured he was telling two separate stories in this song, one from a third person about the couple in stanzas 1 and 3, and then one in first person, possibly about a personal experience
This is another one of my favorite BF5 songs..the best part is "I guess she made her way through the mob too late to here him say.." ect. It's just a beautiful song that has an interesting subject.
I once read something that said Ben got the idea from reading about a domestic dispute in the newspaper. He said it's definitely for the self-destructive.
that makes sense :)
The first eight lines, ben read in a newspaper as I recall. standing alone, theyre a great eight lines; they just fit. i think he included them to give perspective to what hes feeling. Ben said he recycled some words he was thinking of putting to philosophy which is why they sound similar.
i think this is an awesome song, and i think most ppl can relate to it at one point or another.
ever notice that it sounds like chickens are singing right after the chorus... lol... its an awesome song! the best part is
Every couple nights or so You know you pop into my dreams I just can't get rid of you Like you got rid of me Ohh but I send my best Cause God knows you've seen my worst
i can really relate to it.
to me, this song is about the extremes that we go to when we are in love. theres no explaination for them but there just there. its about the stupit things we do in love, but they are beautiful things aswell. "all is fair, all is fair in love"