"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 wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in
And if you do not want to see me again
I would understand
I would understand
The angry boy a bit too insane
Icing over a secret pain
You know you don't belong
You're the first to fight, you're way too loud
You're the flash of light on a burial shroud
I know something's wrong
Well everyone I know has got a reason
To say, "Put the past away"
I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in
And if you do not want to see me again
I would understand
I would understand
Well, he's on the table and he's gone to code
And I do not think anyone knows
What they're doing here
And your friends have left you, you've been dismissed
I never thought it would come to this
And I, I want you to know
Everyone's got to face down the demons
Maybe today, you could put the past away
I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in
And if you do not want to see me again
I would understand
I would understand
I would understand
(I would understand)
(I would understand)
Can you put the past away?
I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
I would understand
(I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend)
I would understand
(I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend)
And I would understand
(I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend)
I would understand
(I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend)
I would understand
You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in
And if you do not want to see me again
I would understand
I would understand
The angry boy a bit too insane
Icing over a secret pain
You know you don't belong
You're the first to fight, you're way too loud
You're the flash of light on a burial shroud
I know something's wrong
Well everyone I know has got a reason
To say, "Put the past away"
I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in
And if you do not want to see me again
I would understand
I would understand
Well, he's on the table and he's gone to code
And I do not think anyone knows
What they're doing here
And your friends have left you, you've been dismissed
I never thought it would come to this
And I, I want you to know
Everyone's got to face down the demons
Maybe today, you could put the past away
I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in
And if you do not want to see me again
I would understand
I would understand
I would understand
(I would understand)
(I would understand)
Can you put the past away?
I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
I would understand
(I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend)
I would understand
(I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend)
And I would understand
(I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend)
I would understand
(I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend)
I would understand
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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,
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
I always pictured it as a song about a friend trying to tell a pal of his to not worry about the past and that moving on is a good option.
But now, with this new information, I can understand that it is an anti-suicide song.