"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.
Babies on beach blankets headed for Mars
Cute guys in crew cuts with the day goes to bars
There's a pretty lady in a bikini
Her eyes are bright
But her teeth look like smashed out window panes
She's trying to fix her dreams
With sushi and facials and carrot juice
[Chorus]
There's a wide wall
That she can't see over now
But that's OK
Because mistakes are allowed when you're a
Satellite
Yoga classes so you can look good
At a singles bar
California is sure lovely
It's the home of the stars
And everybody's got a great body, but souls
Are like shadows
Cause everybody's so shriveled up inside
They're trying to hide behind
Volleyball and Valium and Power Bars
[Chorus]
We understand a lot of things
About modern technology but not about dreams
Our hearts are on the shelves
We can't fix ourselves
But we can fix a satellite
Cause in Hollywood the heroes
Are strung out on grace
And half-skinned gypsies
They're crying to leave this place
[Chorus]
We can fix a Satellite
The Pope can't fix my broken heart
Rock and Roll can't fix my broken Heart
Valium can't fix my broken heart
Miss Cleo can't fix my broken heart
But will you
Fix my broken heart [Repeat: x4]
Satellite
Satellite
Fix my broken heart
Fix my broken heart
Cute guys in crew cuts with the day goes to bars
There's a pretty lady in a bikini
Her eyes are bright
But her teeth look like smashed out window panes
She's trying to fix her dreams
With sushi and facials and carrot juice
[Chorus]
There's a wide wall
That she can't see over now
But that's OK
Because mistakes are allowed when you're a
Satellite
Yoga classes so you can look good
At a singles bar
California is sure lovely
It's the home of the stars
And everybody's got a great body, but souls
Are like shadows
Cause everybody's so shriveled up inside
They're trying to hide behind
Volleyball and Valium and Power Bars
[Chorus]
We understand a lot of things
About modern technology but not about dreams
Our hearts are on the shelves
We can't fix ourselves
But we can fix a satellite
Cause in Hollywood the heroes
Are strung out on grace
And half-skinned gypsies
They're crying to leave this place
[Chorus]
We can fix a Satellite
The Pope can't fix my broken heart
Rock and Roll can't fix my broken Heart
Valium can't fix my broken heart
Miss Cleo can't fix my broken heart
But will you
Fix my broken heart [Repeat: x4]
Satellite
Satellite
Fix my broken heart
Fix my broken heart
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
No Surprises
Radiohead
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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.
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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
these lyrics are all messed up...
Babies on beach blankets headed for Mars Cute boys with crew cuts and day glow surfboards There's a pretty lady in a bikini, her eyes are bright But her teeth look like smashed out window panes She's trying to fix her dreams With sushi and facials and carrot juice
CHORUS: There's a white wall that we can't see over now But that's okay, we're still learning Mistakes, they are allowed If you're a satellite, oh, oh, oh...
Yoga classes so you can look good in your singles bar California's sure lovely; It's the home of the stars And everybody is a nice body But souls are like shadows, hollow inside, choked And hiding behind volley balls and valium and power bars
CHORUS
BRIDGE: We understand a lot of things About modern techonology But not about dreams Our hearts are on the shelves We can't fix ourselves But we can fix a satellite Because in Hollywood The heroes are strung out on grace And half-skinned gypsies are crying to leave this place
The pope can't fix my broken heart Rock 'n' roll can't fix my broken heart Valium can't fix my broken heart Miss Cleo can't fix my broken heart But will you fix my broken heart? Cause I'm gonna give you a satellite Fix my broken heart
Odd that she chose "Satellites" I wonder what that means to her.
The girl in the beginning with the smashed out teeth is very similar to the girl in the poem that Jewel wrote about in her first album. Remember?
I guess jewel thinks a satellite is a person that need another one to whirl around to, as a planet. That can not go his own way, can not have his own life. People that exist to be used by another. Sad but true...
I love this song. Does anyone know what the "white wall" refers to? Possibly meaning the purity that material things represent to people until they find out their true meaning. Just my thoughts.
I like this song alot. and actually the term "satellite" is used to refrence a person who "follows and/or serves another" right out of the dictionary! so hope that clears up the whole question of what she means by satellite. And as far as the "white wall" reference I always thought it was "wide wall" but my bad. So I have no idea there...But great, great song!
I like this song alot. and actually the term "satellite" is used to refrence a person who "follows and/or serves another" right out of the dictionary! so hope that clears up the whole question of what she means by satellite. And as far as the "white wall" reference I always thought it was "wide wall" but my bad. So I have no idea there...But great, great song!
My interpretation of this song is a very powerful message about life in the 21st century. The setting is maybe Malibu? The opening scene is a beach. "babies on beach blankets heading to Mars" is the young teen girls who are suntanning on the beach, a million miles away in their own little world. Their entire future is ahead of them, and they ponder the possibilities of what lies ahead..Mars maybe? "cute boys in crewcuts, dayglow surfboards" ..self explanatory. The pretty lady in a bikini with bright eyes and smashed out window pane teeth, is obviously a reference to herself. She's right there with the Babies and cute boys, trying to fix her dreams with all the latest fads and trends..
The refrain brings in a whole new concept, and begins to define the message of the song. I believe the actual lyric is "there's a WIDE wall, we can't see over now..." We can't see over it because it is wide. Even if we jump or climb to the top of the wall, we can't see over it, the wall is too wide. But it's okay because we are "still learning" and "mistakes are allowed" when you are a "satellite." When you think of a satellite, it orbits around something... in this case, it is the life experience we are all orbiting around, not fully understanding why we are here, what we are to do, what is the meaning and purpose... we are just revolving around life, like a satellite.
In the meantime... here we are, trying to be "perfect" for who? what? why? The song goes on to challenge those with "hollow souls" ...choked from their natural spiritual requirements and caught up in the latest trends and fads. Then it finally rests on an interesting plea to someone (or something) to fix her broken heart. I believe she is saying we (as satellites) tend to revolve around whomever provides facilitation of our wants, needs, desires in life. It is a very interesting song on so many levels.