"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.
It's so easy to defend the Status Quo
With everyone so cool and cynical
But when you see the end don't justify the means
It's just that 180 degrees
The great thing about bein' a human
The ability to reason
But reasoning don't work when no one cares
2 parts apathy, one part despair
Guess what, this might come as a surprise
I'll no longer roll my eyes
A change of heart to let the conscience breath
One quick twist, just 180 degrees
Yeah, I now know the right thing to do
Yeah, anti tradition tried and true
Yeah, a world where wrong has right of way
Yeah, fuck that world, fuck that hierarchy
Go ahead, work, waste your life away
Fuck that world, go fuck that right away
With everyone so cool and cynical
But when you see the end don't justify the means
It's just that 180 degrees
The great thing about bein' a human
The ability to reason
But reasoning don't work when no one cares
2 parts apathy, one part despair
Guess what, this might come as a surprise
I'll no longer roll my eyes
A change of heart to let the conscience breath
One quick twist, just 180 degrees
Yeah, I now know the right thing to do
Yeah, anti tradition tried and true
Yeah, a world where wrong has right of way
Yeah, fuck that world, fuck that hierarchy
Go ahead, work, waste your life away
Fuck that world, go fuck that right away
Lyrics submitted by punk_in_drublic99
180 Degrees Lyrics as written by Mike Burkett
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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"
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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.
I think this song is more about people uncaring what is going on around them whether it is government or life in general or helping their fellow man. And then when something finally hits you as a person and starts to make you care, you do a total 180. We are so caught up in our own thing we pretty much say "fuck the world", "I don't care!" Just focus on work and the things that matter to me, but eventually by not caring things get corrupt and it will effect you and you will start to care when it is too late. Anyone else see this the way I do?
Simultaneously social commentary, and a little anarchistic propaganda, not that that is a bad thing. Its pretty much turning the world upside down, hence the 180 degrees line. The social commentary being that pervasive apathetic attitude that seems to have infected our society. The anarchistic propaganda being the turning the of current state of affairs upside down. In other words, where there once was vertically structured society with social hiearchies then now is a horizontally organized one. Yes, drkshadow03 I think most people see it your way.
nofx is awsome so long and thanks for all the shoes was a good cd except for the part where howard stern made fun of them howard sten can kiss my ass nofx is such a great band
fuck yeah drkshadow, you fucking said it. i hear ya brother. i love this song. event though fat mike isnt noam chomsky or anything his songs defintiely do have political impacts.
Basically its saying that it's okay to change your mind. It's actually a form of intelligence.
this song is fuckin awesome, fuckin awesom white trash two heebs and a been is fuckin cool
it's cruel and cynical i think..
just in case your not aware alec stevens, that song is off of So Long and Thanks For All The Shoes.
now you know the right thing to do after listening this fucking great song : make your punk
this song is great i think ints about just do the complete opposite of what the government wants you to do hence the 180 degreez take a look at the government and then look at yourself hopefully there is that much of a difference