"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.
I'm told the eventual downfall
Is just a bill from the restaurant
You told me I could order the moon, babe
Just as long as I shoot what I want
What the last ten minutes have taught me
Bet the hand that your money's on
Where the Hell have the '70s brought me?
You trade me away, long gone
For the love of a god, you said
Not a letter from an occupant
The time that your enemy gives you
Good times are not the ones you want
I've cried five rivers on the way here
Which one will you skate away on?
The tune you'll be humming forever
All the words are replaced and wrong
With a shower of "yeahs" and "whatevers"
You trade me away, long gone
For the love of a god, you said
Not a letter from an occupant
Where've all sensations gone?
Where've all sensations gone?
Where've all sensations gone?
Where've all sensations gone?
For the love of a god, you said
Not a letter from an occupant
For the love of a god, you said
Not a letter from an occupant
For the love of a god, you said
Not a letter from an occupant
The song, the song, the song that's shakin' me
The song, the song, the song that's shakin' me
The song, the song, the song that's shakin' me
The song, the song, the song that's shakin' me
For the love of a god, you said
Not a letter from an occupant
For the love of a god, you said
Not a letter from an occupant
Is just a bill from the restaurant
You told me I could order the moon, babe
Just as long as I shoot what I want
What the last ten minutes have taught me
Bet the hand that your money's on
Where the Hell have the '70s brought me?
You trade me away, long gone
For the love of a god, you said
Not a letter from an occupant
The time that your enemy gives you
Good times are not the ones you want
I've cried five rivers on the way here
Which one will you skate away on?
The tune you'll be humming forever
All the words are replaced and wrong
With a shower of "yeahs" and "whatevers"
You trade me away, long gone
For the love of a god, you said
Not a letter from an occupant
Where've all sensations gone?
Where've all sensations gone?
Where've all sensations gone?
Where've all sensations gone?
For the love of a god, you said
Not a letter from an occupant
For the love of a god, you said
Not a letter from an occupant
For the love of a god, you said
Not a letter from an occupant
The song, the song, the song that's shakin' me
The song, the song, the song that's shakin' me
The song, the song, the song that's shakin' me
The song, the song, the song that's shakin' me
For the love of a god, you said
Not a letter from an occupant
For the love of a god, you said
Not a letter from an occupant
Lyrics submitted by tumblweed15
Letter from an Occupant Lyrics as written by Carl Allan Newman
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
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"
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/
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Chinup, I agree with you on all three accounts: "shoot what I want","skate away on", and "traded me away long gone" It's really quite clear.
And also, like you, I have not even the slightest idea what it could actually be about.