"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 all a matter of soul and fire
Infatuation or true desire
The thrill of discovery, divine intervention
Cruel, cruel change; the pain of rejection
As you walk away, think of all the joy we shared
If you decide you need me, I'll be wondering if I care
Not there to soothe your soul, friend to tender friend
I think our love is coming to an end
King persuader, congratulations
Share her heart, you bought her soul
Princess confusion, come to me again
Saying goodbye was so much fun
When you walk away, feel the freedom in your heart
There's a joy in letting go, free to find a love apart
When I lose control, I need a kind, forgiving friend
But I think our love is coming to an end
I know our love is coming to an end
Infatuation or true desire
The thrill of discovery, divine intervention
Cruel, cruel change; the pain of rejection
As you walk away, think of all the joy we shared
If you decide you need me, I'll be wondering if I care
Not there to soothe your soul, friend to tender friend
I think our love is coming to an end
King persuader, congratulations
Share her heart, you bought her soul
Princess confusion, come to me again
Saying goodbye was so much fun
When you walk away, feel the freedom in your heart
There's a joy in letting go, free to find a love apart
When I lose control, I need a kind, forgiving friend
But I think our love is coming to an end
I know our love is coming to an end
Lyrics submitted by junkie
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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"
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,
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
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.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
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.
Hah, I love this song. I read it as being extremely bitter. The first 4 lines being about the "situation" in general. I.e he's wondering if he was just infatuated or if it was true love and the pain of being rejected etc. Next 8 lines I feel are addressed to a girl saying he won't be there for her anymore and is giving her up. The last lines I think are addressed to the person listening to the song saying that giving up on someone is, unfortunately, sometimes the best thing you can do. I can relate to it if it's that. Recently had to ditch a fairly...mentally unstable friend / ex because she was being far, far too difficult and was, well, going completely mental.
It's about breaking up with someone you love. Whether you both think you should break up, or just one person does.
"Cruel, cruel change, pain of rejection" i.e. it's hard to move on as we are comfortable with someone, and the rejection is to see (or think) of the other person with someone else, as well as (possibly being afraid of) pain of being rejected by someone else.
"As you walk away, think of all the joy we shared If you decide you need me, I'll be wondering if I care Not there to soothe your soul, friend to tender friend"
"King persuader, congratulations You share her heart, you bought her soul Princess confusion, come to me again"
These lines suggest that girl breaks up, and the guy tries to get back together but the girl breaks up again cause she doesn't know what she wants
"There's a joy in letting go, free to find a love apart" Is possibly being sarcastic.
"When I lose control, I need a kind, forgiving friend But I think our love is coming to an end" i.e. The guy has gotten frustrated with her and lost his temper and wants to be comforted by the girl, but realizes he shouldn't be comforted because they should just be apart.
This song is a real heart string strummer.
Love the line " Princess confusion, come to me again"
Heard a cover bt Kris Roe which led me to get the original and it is great.
From Wikipedia: "The song was inspired by Lou Barlow's breakup with his then girlfriend, Catherine Billus. The song affected Billus so profoundly, that it brought the two back together."
It seems to me that this is a great explanation of a couple where the gal has emotional issues that are leading her away from their relationship.
It almost sounds like he was slowly watching her change and lose attachment, and the final goodbye hurt, but also felt good - I imagine there was an outpouring of emotion from her at the end after a long time of showing none.
It also sounds like an outside third party stole her away:
"King persuader, congratulations Share her heart, you bought her soul"
Someone from her past maybe that she had never let go persuaded her to leave for him again. The next line indicates that the singer believes the same possibility for her to sway back one more time and come back to him:
"Princess confusion, come to me again"
The rest of the lines indicate that he knows she is leaving, but the arrangement of the lyrics in the song make me think he knows she may still love him and come back again someday.