"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.
If the fish swam out of the ocean
And grew legs and they started walking
And the apes climbed down from the trees
And grew tall and they started talking
And the stars fell out of the sky
And my tears rolled into the ocean
And now I'm looking for a reason why
You even set my world into motion
'Cause if you're not really here
Then the stars don't even matter
Now I'm filled to the top with fear
That it's all just a bunch of matter
'Cause if you're not really here
Then I don't wanna be either
I wanna be next to you
Black and gold, black and gold, black and gold
I look up into the night sky
I see a thousand eyes staring back
And all around these golden beacons
I see nothing but black
I feel the weight of something beyond them
I don't see what I can feel
If vision is the only validation
Then most of my life isn't real
'Cause if you're not really here
Then the stars don't even matter
Now I'm filled to the top with fear
That it's all just a bunch of matter
'Cause if you're not really here
Then I don't wanna be either
I wanna be next to you
Black and gold, black and gold, black and gold
(Black and gold, black and gold, black and gold)
Black and gold, black and gold, black and gold (oh, oh)
'Cause if you're not really here
Then the stars don't even matter
Now I'm filled to the top with fear
That it's all just a bunch of matter
'Cause if you're not really here
I don't wanna be either
I wanna be next to you
Black and gold, black and gold, black and gold
And grew legs and they started walking
And the apes climbed down from the trees
And grew tall and they started talking
And the stars fell out of the sky
And my tears rolled into the ocean
And now I'm looking for a reason why
You even set my world into motion
'Cause if you're not really here
Then the stars don't even matter
Now I'm filled to the top with fear
That it's all just a bunch of matter
'Cause if you're not really here
Then I don't wanna be either
I wanna be next to you
Black and gold, black and gold, black and gold
I look up into the night sky
I see a thousand eyes staring back
And all around these golden beacons
I see nothing but black
I feel the weight of something beyond them
I don't see what I can feel
If vision is the only validation
Then most of my life isn't real
'Cause if you're not really here
Then the stars don't even matter
Now I'm filled to the top with fear
That it's all just a bunch of matter
'Cause if you're not really here
Then I don't wanna be either
I wanna be next to you
Black and gold, black and gold, black and gold
(Black and gold, black and gold, black and gold)
Black and gold, black and gold, black and gold (oh, oh)
'Cause if you're not really here
Then the stars don't even matter
Now I'm filled to the top with fear
That it's all just a bunch of matter
'Cause if you're not really here
I don't wanna be either
I wanna be next to you
Black and gold, black and gold, black and gold
Lyrics submitted by solvent_d, edited by Kkhris27, wronglyric
Black & Gold [Single] Lyrics as written by Samuel Falson Jesse Rogg
Lyrics © Word Collections Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Exploration Group LLC
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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”
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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
He's questioning whether god exists or not.
"the fish swam out of the ocean and grew legs and they started walking and the apes climbed down from the trees and grew tall and they started talking
and the stars fell out of the sky" Life evolved, then alot of living creatures died when an asteroid hit earth (or a star fell out of the sky)
"now i'm looking for a reason why" He's asking why humans (or himself) now exists when most life became exstinct millions of years ago.
"cause if you're not really here then the stars don't even matter now i'm filled to the top with fear but it's all just a bunch of matter" He's scared because if god doesn't exist then he, us, the stars, and everything around us is just a bunch of matter. Matter meaning a mass of atoms.
"i feel a way of something beyond them i don't see what i can feel if vision is the only validation then most of my life isn't real" he feels like theres more than just what he can see (heaven maybe?) but if vision is the only thing that makes everything real (or something isnt real if you cant see it) then most of his life isnt real, because life is built from emotional feelings (and you cant see your feelings)
black & gold is just what he sees when he looks up into the night sky
This is a very deep song that questions religion and reality and hes trying to find a way to put the two together. Im not at all a religious person but this is 1 of my favourite songs because everything he says in it makes sense to me. He's having the same thoughts that i have had (and probly most humans)
All I can say is Mrmoo232 is exactly correct... and I am going to take this to the next step... or I should say what I am about to say is going to take us all to the next step. Since I can't sum everything up in a comment box on this website, I'm coming up with a way to be able to speak and be heard by all the world at the same time... starting with the only place I know how, my family, my blood, myself. If you have found yourself here today reading this, then chances are you are very close yourself already. It's like a nagging in all our heads, a hurdle (if you will) that we can easily jump together - it's just we don't know how to jump yet.<br /> <br /> If you are really close, then all I can say is combine the idea of God with your earliest memory you have as a child... or I should say the earliest feeling you have as a child of being loved. This is easiest to do for the majority of the population by thinking of an early event with our mothers. Think of that joy. Or the person that held the motherly image in your life (a caregiver regardless of gender) the English language / language in general is very limited to describing raw emotion, bear with me If not an event, then feel the idea of how much you love your mom and how much your mom loves you. I will continue to use present tense because for you to understand what I am saying - first you gotta realize past and future don't exist because time doesn't exist - only our imagination of time. Humans are imagination, we are creative design... and only when you can see this in your mind - the merge of science (knowledge), imagination, thought, consciousness, life, expression --- basically everything you feel passion for, starting with the people that matter most in your life - are in fact, God.<br /> <br /> I'm not sure if Sam Sparro knew what he was saying when he sung this song,<br /> but this song, and a string of fortunate events in (signs that have rapidly come closer together)my daily life and since I was born have lead me to this point... this post... this moment and the following days to come. If you are reading this, I want you to breath a sigh of relief. That is all I can say for now. I have always had the number 911 - when 9/11 happened I wondered, and I doubted... but the 911 didn't stop happening. Thankfully I know I have told enough people about this recurring number for enough years that I know my loved ones and friends will just know once I tell them of the events that have taken place.<br /> <br /> And the best part? I didn't realize the date until a couple hours ago and decided to finally write this. I'm done ignoring what we have always known.<br /> <br /> I love you all.<br /> -J<br /> <br /> While writing this... my friend called me and after explaining to him that I would be posting and the significance of the date along with my "haunting" of the number 911 - he asked me if I realized what I really had... not so much a date of 1-19-11 but instead 11911 - it's the perfect mirror, I realized with his help. We can think of point A and point B - now picture a tunnel and the entrance on the left is point A and the exit on the right is point B. Now, look through the tunnel folks. Look through A and your sight will come out of B -- Make point A birth and point B death (Or for our science crowd A is true and B is false, A is nothing, B is something, A=0, B=1, etc.) The tube itself and and space between these two points is life. It's not too hard once you open your mind <3. Without A you wouldn't see B, and vice versa. Without either you would not have a tube in the first place.<br />
why "black and gold"??? i love this song, and it's pretty weird but i think i get it, only what's the relevance of black and gold?
The Black and the Gold are refered to in the actual song. Black being the night sky and gold being the 'thousand beacons'
When I was very drunk I wrote down the meaning from this song.. I did not even know about the Annunaki & Enki but the next morning I found this is the oldest relgion on earth written in clay tablets.like WOHOOO. Annunaki means: Those who from Heaven to Earth Came. And they where searching gold. They came with silver things like falling stars. They found Earth and animals, like apes who were black. They used some dna of them. And made them slaves. Then there came humans. Because it was a lot of work to find gold. So I think black & gold, i want to be next to you,when the apes climbed out of the trees and started talking etc.. have a lot in common with this story. But what happened with these gods like Annunaki, nobody knows exactly and it is mystery hihi. Good luck!
I believe iMuso's response for the reason why Sam Sparro sung it, but it spoke to me on a different level. I find it funny that you, liselot1989, came up with what you did while you were drunk, because I, too, was on a relaxant when I was able to open my mind to the meaning behind this song. To think outside the box, so to speak. :)
It could be because us, as sinful humans are Black, symbolising Sin. And God, is perfect, so Gold symbolises that. This song is highly Christian, and Sam Sparro himself is a Christian.
ahh awesome, that makes a lot more sense than all the rubbish i was coming up with! and yeah that's a good point about the religious connotations -
"now i'm filled to the top with fear but it's all just a bunch of matter" - it's nothing more than just matter if god's not there to give life a meaning. ("now i'm looking for a reason why you even set my world into motion"
i thought of it 1st as romantic but it's got some potentially pretty deep stuff in here.
mines might make the most sense
The analysis above is spot on - Sam Sparro confirmed that the song is about the existence of God when he appeared on BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge 11th April 2008.
I agree, I think it is a very deep song - and he seems really to be questioning the value of His own existence.
I can understand that he says, 'if you're not really here, then I don't want to be either,' I think he is talking to God saying that if God doesn't exist - then he himself is just matter, and so there is greater reason for living. Its cool that a songwriter can search so openly, as it is a question that so many people struggle with.
I think when he says, "If vision is the only validation, then most of my life isn't real" - he means that if all we have to prove or disprove God's existence is the fact that we have seen him then we really have no proof at all - because 'most of my life isn't real' - all he as to prove most of his life is his vision - th only validation. Its a bit far fetched, but its how I understand it... may be wrong. thoughts?
This is a cry out to God. He acknowledges Gods existence. This song to me is asking God why. He wonders why he "set my world into motion" He also wants to believe that God is loving in the sense that he is "there" (if your not really there) he wants to believe in gODS LOVE Also look at the fact that Sam Sparro grew up extremely christian and his father is a minister
Composed and recorded by Sam Sparro, “Black and Gold” is a likable, bold song all about truth. It asks one critical question, ‘Why this world and all its contents?’ If God isn’t here, nothing really matters in the grand scheme of things. The first stanza is an obvious reference to evolution, “If the fish swam out of the ocean and grew legs and started walking, and the apes climbed down from the trees and grew tall and they started talking.” If evolution were a relevant life theory, things would continue evolving. However, the failure for things to continue to evolve diminishes this theory. In this song, Sparro recognizes the artist comes to this rationalization because he believes if there was no god, then nothing really matters. He fears that if we were to exist due to evolution, “its all just a bunch of matter” and our lives count for nothing. As the song continues the artist talks about how he can sense that God is there. "I sense the weight of something beyond them and I don't see what I can feel." He knows that God is all around him he just can't see God. However, Sparro then goes on to say, "If vision is the only validation, then most of my life isn't real." He recognizes seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing. Many things in life are believed and not seen. You cannot see the wind, only the effects of it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. The same applies with God, though you cannot see him physically, you can see him at work in people and creation. The colours black and gold are also symbolic in the song. The golden beacons symbolizes God’s path of guidance. Sparro mentions “all around these golden beacons I see nothing but black.” The black signifies the background of nothingness that God shines his guidance on.
Good stuff =)
@winkingsmurf <br /> Hundreds of millions of years of evolution to make it to this point in our timeline.<br /> And you use ~5000 years of recorded history to make the assumption that evolution suddenly stopped happening?<br />
I think he is not questioning is there a God, I believe he's asking to be closer to his creator , Black = the infinite, Gold= beautiful intelligence.
"I feel a way of something beyond them I don't see what I can feel If vision is the only validation Then most of my life isn't real"
We have more than one sense, most of the things we feel we can't see , but just know they are real. Before we invented microscopes where could not see germs but they could still hurt us, we just have invented a way to truly see God. most don't believe God exist because of evolution, but still believe in love.
Your right. He says in an interview that it is about God and that he is very religious
I've watched the video a few times (a bit obsessively, actually; I really like this song), and I think some of what's quoted above is inaccurate. For example, instead of
"now i'm filled to the top with fear but it's all just a bunch of matter"
I think Sam actually says
"now i'm filled to the top with fear that it's all just a bunch of matter"
which would be more logical for a song that appears to reflect a crisis of religious faith.
Oh, and he's looking up into the "night" sky, not a "grey" one (if it were grey, why would he go on to say
"I see nothing but black!"?)
yeah, i watched the video too, it was so lame. the song meant alot more to me when i heard it, but once i watched the video it sort of ruined the feelings I got when I listened to it afterward.<br /> <br /> I still love the song though, because i myself am stuck between spiritual and scientific matters, I don't belive in A GOD, but I definatly belive in a spiritual matter in us all and the whole universe, a higher being that defines each and every one of us in one level or another, you know?<br /> <br /> and just as he says, then my life isnt real, well it isnt, we are all just a bunch of little pieces of recycled matter all bundled up into something that looks and remains as an object until it's our time to climb back into the ocean or receed back up into the trees from whence we came, and continue living on our lives in the way we were meant to.
well its basicly apeaing to a darwinist mentality in the first verses of the song tossign aroung evolutionary stories
it is about gdo and how he createdthe world "i dont wanna be either" meaning he wants to be in a symbolic of literal place with god bascly is alla bout a theist looking up in wonder at the general revalation that is the night sky