"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.
Another quarter mile, we can't stop running
Must be on time
Holding the lost files
A drop off's coming
Too soon for us
This is the switch
One day, one far from we're in now
We'll look back and laugh
If we make the checkpoint
All our worries will be gone for some time
A stolen suitcase full of your secrets
Soon will unwind
This is the switch
Play innocent, were innocent
I'll wash my hands one day
One far from we're in now
We'll look back and laugh
We'll move to a foreign town
In Argentina, if you're down
No one will recognize us
Spending with our new disguises on
If only the switch would come
Must be on time
Holding the lost files
A drop off's coming
Too soon for us
This is the switch
One day, one far from we're in now
We'll look back and laugh
If we make the checkpoint
All our worries will be gone for some time
A stolen suitcase full of your secrets
Soon will unwind
This is the switch
Play innocent, were innocent
I'll wash my hands one day
One far from we're in now
We'll look back and laugh
We'll move to a foreign town
In Argentina, if you're down
No one will recognize us
Spending with our new disguises on
If only the switch would come
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
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.
Why this is the least viewed Rival Schools song I will never know.
ah i know, this song is fucking great.
This song is great purely because of that meaty intro
I like the way that the vocal key changes with the line "This is the switch"
maybe my favorite rival schools song ever. makes me think of one of my best friends and how we always talk about how one day we are just going to disappear... very cool song.