"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.
Friday 13, lights go red, green, in a coffee shop
I'm giving you the look
While someone else
Is fingering your wallet in my pocketbook
It's a mean town but I don't care
Try and steal this
Can't steal happiness
Got a charger, no cell phone, I can't call out
Unless it's to cry your name out the open window
To a sky that looks right back
And says it's never seen rain
Sometimes you gotta start clean
You gotta begin not begin again, oh no
And as we fly around the sun
We know we're not the only ones
Love for the lonely
It's been a long time coming
Can you hear that hopeful heart?
Night settles, still working on a way to breathe
Don't you go, don't you go down
Take a helium taxi home to me
I'm giving you the look
While someone else
Is fingering your wallet in my pocketbook
It's a mean town but I don't care
Try and steal this
Can't steal happiness
Got a charger, no cell phone, I can't call out
Unless it's to cry your name out the open window
To a sky that looks right back
And says it's never seen rain
Sometimes you gotta start clean
You gotta begin not begin again, oh no
And as we fly around the sun
We know we're not the only ones
Love for the lonely
It's been a long time coming
Can you hear that hopeful heart?
Night settles, still working on a way to breathe
Don't you go, don't you go down
Take a helium taxi home to me
Lyrics submitted by delial
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
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.
i love the chorus, it's so sweet and relatable.
What a happy song. It makes you feel hopeful and positive
'Sometimes you gotta start clean You gotta begin not begin again, oh no'
not to begin again, meaning you didn't like your life before. but begin in general, meaning you never really had a life before. intense, pretty.
being happy regardless of the dismal surroundings, bad luck, or the life you led.
makes you happy, no?
Love listening to this song when I'm feeling a bit down; it always brings my mood up. This is one of the most optimistic songs ever, and such a delight to listen to over and over!
Hey fellow fans, I have never meet anyone who has ever heard of the weepies. I know its hard to believe. I try to introduce them, and they just don't get the magic that is their music. Anyway, this song(and all weepies songs) make me feel weak. With that type of word usage, it paints like a beautiful painting in my mind about love, and apathy. LOVE CONCOURS ALL...sorta. I envy their love. sigh
p.s: isn't it,"its been a long time coming, can you hear that hopeful "hark"...oh oh."(Not hopeful heart)Atleast I like it better that way.