"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 warm and tender but very soon it will turn cold
Shadows stare down from the walls
Out of the mist it's coming closer now
It never rains -- it pours on me
So let the saints
Set up the courtyard, the unpleasant cage
The obvious point is I'm insane
Was I aware whom I has slain, I fear I was:
The faceless
The nameless
The bush set on fire
No one ever dared to speak
"Shame on me, I don't believe
The here and now Is all we're living for"
Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
By one false move it's blown away
Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
Their voices cease it's gone away
Vanished to the point of no return
Vanished to the point of no return
Witness my last breath
I do not regret
A word I've said
The strong will survive
The weak must die
And out of the mist
It's coming closer now
Sinner and saints --
The grateful slaves
Nature's law instead of God in heaven
From far beyond
I can hear them sing
I hear angels sing
Songs of innocence
I hear the angel sing
Despite the facts are clear
It cannot be, what we can't see
I must admit, it sounds so sweet
Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
By one false move it's blown away
Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
Their voices cease it's gone away
Vanished to the point of no return
Vanished to the point of no return
Angels sing
(Can hear them sing)
I hear angels sing
I hear angels sing
(Can hear them sing)
I hear angels sing
I hear angels sing
(Can hear them sing)
I hear angels sing
I hear angels sing
I hear angels sing
Far beyond I hear them sing
("It's true) it's true
We don't exist"
From far beyond I hear them sing
("It's true) it's true
We don't exist"
Well we all know there's no other side
It's good and evil
I know right between, there's no borderline
This is the punishment divine
Surrounded by night, I've been offered insight
There is none but the sin of pride
Am I wrong am I right? Am I losing my sight?
Abandoning the superior mind
Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
By one false move it's blown away
Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
Their voices cease it's gone away
Vanished to the point of no return
Vanished to the point of no return
(Right away)
Through the valleys grey
(I will be gone)
Through the shapeless land I walk alone
(I will be gone)
I'm left alone
(I will be gone)
Through the deepest void, a blackened paradise
(I will be gone)
I walk alone, I'm left alone
Shadows stare down from the walls
Out of the mist it's coming closer now
It never rains -- it pours on me
So let the saints
Set up the courtyard, the unpleasant cage
The obvious point is I'm insane
Was I aware whom I has slain, I fear I was:
The faceless
The nameless
The bush set on fire
No one ever dared to speak
"Shame on me, I don't believe
The here and now Is all we're living for"
Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
By one false move it's blown away
Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
Their voices cease it's gone away
Vanished to the point of no return
Vanished to the point of no return
Witness my last breath
I do not regret
A word I've said
The strong will survive
The weak must die
And out of the mist
It's coming closer now
Sinner and saints --
The grateful slaves
Nature's law instead of God in heaven
From far beyond
I can hear them sing
I hear angels sing
Songs of innocence
I hear the angel sing
Despite the facts are clear
It cannot be, what we can't see
I must admit, it sounds so sweet
Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
By one false move it's blown away
Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
Their voices cease it's gone away
Vanished to the point of no return
Vanished to the point of no return
Angels sing
(Can hear them sing)
I hear angels sing
I hear angels sing
(Can hear them sing)
I hear angels sing
I hear angels sing
(Can hear them sing)
I hear angels sing
I hear angels sing
I hear angels sing
Far beyond I hear them sing
("It's true) it's true
We don't exist"
From far beyond I hear them sing
("It's true) it's true
We don't exist"
Well we all know there's no other side
It's good and evil
I know right between, there's no borderline
This is the punishment divine
Surrounded by night, I've been offered insight
There is none but the sin of pride
Am I wrong am I right? Am I losing my sight?
Abandoning the superior mind
Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
By one false move it's blown away
Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
Their voices cease it's gone away
Vanished to the point of no return
Vanished to the point of no return
(Right away)
Through the valleys grey
(I will be gone)
Through the shapeless land I walk alone
(I will be gone)
I'm left alone
(I will be gone)
Through the deepest void, a blackened paradise
(I will be gone)
I walk alone, I'm left alone
Lyrics submitted by Equilan
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Fast Car
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Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
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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,
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Wu-Tang Clan
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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.
Magical
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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.
Definitely about Nietzsche. Darwin wasn't an atheist, even calling him an agnostic would be pushing it a bit. Nor did Darwin think his work had any bearing on religion in terms of the existence of god. 'Survival of the fittest' in Darwin's view definitely did not equate to 'only the strong survive', it's a fairly meaningless phrase without context in the sense of Darwin's usage. He was using it to express adaptability in terms of speciation. Darwin also never recanted his theories or hypotheses as described in the song, he was a serious scientist to his death.
'Well we all know there's no other side It's good and evil I know right between, there's no borderline This is the punishment divine'
Nietzsche described 'good and evil' as simple human abstractions which were fundamentally irrelevant in his view of the world and fairly frequently described god as a useless concept to modern man.
There's also the simple fact that Nietzsche died in extremely poor mental health after suffering several strokes, Darwin died fairly peacefully and completely sane.