"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.
Thousand decades in vain
(Again) they strive for final completion
Forgotten are the fast sins
And the perfect creation calls
What will the wind bring these days?
The smell of self-deception?
Masses of dullness, a spiral cage
As they ride on visual aggression
Once, I slept in confidence
Sounds like I've been a fool
Now, as my will is invisible
(They shall) face the evoked curse alone
What will the wind bring these days?
The smell of self-deception?
Masses of dullness, a spiral cage
As they ride on visual aggression
Just fool yourself, a world of ignorance
Will tear the walls, of dreams apart
Vast signals, memories in black
Sense is beyond, distorted any balance
Flood of tears, you'll have to drink
As the grail, is lying on the floor
Don't ask for another messiah
No martyr will save the stupid (again)
Is truth what you believe?
A prophet's tears will dry
What will the wind bring these days?
The smell of self-deception?
Masses of dullness, a spiral cage
As they ride on visual aggression
The watcher's eyes are closed
As the dust covers the madmen again
There'll be a new king
And I was born to encounter him
What will the wind bring these days?
The smell of self-deception?
Masses of dullness, a spiral cage
As they ride on visual aggression
(Again) they strive for final completion
Forgotten are the fast sins
And the perfect creation calls
What will the wind bring these days?
The smell of self-deception?
Masses of dullness, a spiral cage
As they ride on visual aggression
Once, I slept in confidence
Sounds like I've been a fool
Now, as my will is invisible
(They shall) face the evoked curse alone
What will the wind bring these days?
The smell of self-deception?
Masses of dullness, a spiral cage
As they ride on visual aggression
Just fool yourself, a world of ignorance
Will tear the walls, of dreams apart
Vast signals, memories in black
Sense is beyond, distorted any balance
Flood of tears, you'll have to drink
As the grail, is lying on the floor
Don't ask for another messiah
No martyr will save the stupid (again)
Is truth what you believe?
A prophet's tears will dry
What will the wind bring these days?
The smell of self-deception?
Masses of dullness, a spiral cage
As they ride on visual aggression
The watcher's eyes are closed
As the dust covers the madmen again
There'll be a new king
And I was born to encounter him
What will the wind bring these days?
The smell of self-deception?
Masses of dullness, a spiral cage
As they ride on visual aggression
Lyrics submitted by black_cow_of_death
Visual Aggression Lyrics as written by Tom Warrior
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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,
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Unfortunately, a couple of lines are misquoted here. They should be:
"Forgotten are the past sins And the "perfect creation" falls"
With the proper lyrics, the meaning becomes a lot clearer. On the face of it, this song might describe Western civilization in general and the U.S. in particular. "Masses of dullness, a spiral cage/ As they ride on visual aggression" -- the dull masses, obsessed with pacifying media violence?
But, like George Orwell's "Animal Farm", this story has a more general meaning. It suggests a repeating cycle that happens to one civilization after another over the millenia. Again and again, human beings create what they think is the "perfect" civilization, the one that finally got it right -- only to destroy it with their own folly.
Interestingly, the lyrics hint that the narrator is some heroic or guardian figure. He counsels honesty in facing the inevitable slide into disaster: "Is truth what you believe?/ A prophet's tears will dry..." The catastrophe (at least this time) comes because he has somehow failed or neglected his duty: "Once, I slept in confidence/ Sounds like I've been a fool . . ." But he knows this history will repeat itself, with a new civilization rising again.