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"
You got a fast car,
I wanna ticket to anywhere,
Maybe we can make a deal,
Maybe together we can get somewhere,
Any place is better,
Startin' from zero, got nothin' to lose,
Maybe we'll make somethin',
Me myself I've got nothin' to prove.
You got a fast car,
I got a plan to get us outta here,
Been working at a convenience store,
Managed to save just a little bit of money
We won't have to drive too far,
Just 'cross the border and into the city,
You and I can both get jobs,
And finally see what it means to be livin'.
See, my old man's got a problem,
He live with the bottle, that's the way it is
He say his body's too old for workin',
I say his body's too young to look like his,
My mama went off and left him,
She wanted more from life than he could give,
I said, somebody's got to take care of him,
So I quit school, and that's what I did.
You got a fast car,
Is it fast enough so we can fly away?
We gotta make a decision,
We leave tonight or live an' die this way.
CHORUS
'cause I remember when we were drivin',
Drivin' in your car,
Speeds so fast I felt like I was drunk,
City lights lay out before us,
And your arm felt nice wrapped round my shoulder,
And I, I had a feelin' that I belonged,
And I, I had a feelin' I could be someone,
Be someone,
Be someone.
You got a fast car,
We go cruisin', entertain ourselves,
You still ain't got a job,
Now I work in the market as a checkout girl,
I know things'll get better,
You'll find work and I'll get promoted,
And we'll move out of the shelter,
Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs.
CHORUS
You got a fast car,
I got a job that pays all our bills,
You stay out drinkin' late at the bar,
See more of your friends than you do of your kids,
I'd always hoped for better,
Thought maybe together, you and me'd find it,
I got no plans, I ain't goin' nowhere,
So take your fast car and keep on drivin'.
CHORUS
You got a fast car,
Is it fast enough, so you can fly away?
You gotta make a decision,
You leave tonight or live and die this way.
I wanna ticket to anywhere,
Maybe we can make a deal,
Maybe together we can get somewhere,
Any place is better,
Startin' from zero, got nothin' to lose,
Maybe we'll make somethin',
Me myself I've got nothin' to prove.
You got a fast car,
I got a plan to get us outta here,
Been working at a convenience store,
Managed to save just a little bit of money
We won't have to drive too far,
Just 'cross the border and into the city,
You and I can both get jobs,
And finally see what it means to be livin'.
See, my old man's got a problem,
He live with the bottle, that's the way it is
He say his body's too old for workin',
I say his body's too young to look like his,
My mama went off and left him,
She wanted more from life than he could give,
I said, somebody's got to take care of him,
So I quit school, and that's what I did.
You got a fast car,
Is it fast enough so we can fly away?
We gotta make a decision,
We leave tonight or live an' die this way.
CHORUS
'cause I remember when we were drivin',
Drivin' in your car,
Speeds so fast I felt like I was drunk,
City lights lay out before us,
And your arm felt nice wrapped round my shoulder,
And I, I had a feelin' that I belonged,
And I, I had a feelin' I could be someone,
Be someone,
Be someone.
You got a fast car,
We go cruisin', entertain ourselves,
You still ain't got a job,
Now I work in the market as a checkout girl,
I know things'll get better,
You'll find work and I'll get promoted,
And we'll move out of the shelter,
Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs.
CHORUS
You got a fast car,
I got a job that pays all our bills,
You stay out drinkin' late at the bar,
See more of your friends than you do of your kids,
I'd always hoped for better,
Thought maybe together, you and me'd find it,
I got no plans, I ain't goin' nowhere,
So take your fast car and keep on drivin'.
CHORUS
You got a fast car,
Is it fast enough, so you can fly away?
You gotta make a decision,
You leave tonight or live and die this way.
Lyrics submitted by mrdave2001, edited by LeMarkyDussod
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The Night We Met
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No Surprises
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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.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
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Head > Heels
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This song is so meaningful because most people can relate to it literally. It's an amazing feeling to be in a fast car at nighttime with people you share a common dream, love, or goal with.
There are three major stages in this person's life that they are going through. In the first stage, they are likely young because they are starting a new experience of working and suddenly feel like they can do anything.
The first instance of denial is when the speaker makes reference that their mother went off in a fast car but they stayed home to care for their father. This is the reality and the part of life you forget on those lovely car rides. It's what they come home to.
In the middle of the song, their job is nothing special--but they still have hope that they will achieve their dream of whatever it happens to be.
By the end, they are done. Their dream is so warped that there is barely hope left, but enough so that they are still questioning living their life in the between. Who does "you" refer to? Why did Tracey choose for a woman as his persona?
There is an important message conveyed in this song: Just because you have a physical "way out," doesn't mean it is easy to separate dreams from reality.