"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.
And yes I believe in what we had but words got in the way
And only yesterday, as I was leaving, Lord knows I've tried to say
But I've heard a million conversations going where they've been before
Seen the way that careful lingers undecided at the door
And all I know for sure, all I know for real
Is knowing doesn't mean so much
When placed against the feeling, the heat inside
When bodies meet, when fingers touch
All my words are secondhand and useless in the face of this
Rationale and rhyme and reason, pale beside a single kiss
And I've heard so many things, I fail to understand at all
I'd settle anytime for unknown footsteps in the hall outside
And all I know for sure, all I know for real
Is knowing doesn't mean so much
When placed against the feeling, the heat inside
When bodies meet, when fingers touch
Because the world is cruel and promises are broken
Don't try to tell me anything, don't try to tell me
You'll be true to me, you know the real truth is never spoken
And I know the world is cold but if you hold on tight to what you
Find you might not mind too much though
Even this must pass away
And memories may last for years but
Names are just for souvenirs
Some kind of angel, let me look into your eyes
Don't give me why's and wherefore's reason or surprise
I don't care for words that don't belong
And I don't care what you're called, tell me later if at all
I can wait a long, long time, before I hear another love song
Come here I think you're beautiful
My door is open wide
Some kind of angel come inside
Come here I think you're beautiful
I think you're beautiful, beautiful
Some kind of angel come inside
Come here I think you're beautiful
I think you're beautiful
Some kind of angel come inside
Come here I think you're beautiful
My door is open wide
Some kind of stranger come inside
Come here I think you're beautiful
I think you're beautiful, beautiful
Some kind of stranger come inside
Come here I think you're beautiful
I think you're beautiful
Some kind of stranger come inside
Come here I think you're beautiful
My door is open wide
Some kind of stranger come inside
Come here I think you're beautiful
I think you're beautiful, beautiful
Some kind of stranger come inside
And only yesterday, as I was leaving, Lord knows I've tried to say
But I've heard a million conversations going where they've been before
Seen the way that careful lingers undecided at the door
And all I know for sure, all I know for real
Is knowing doesn't mean so much
When placed against the feeling, the heat inside
When bodies meet, when fingers touch
All my words are secondhand and useless in the face of this
Rationale and rhyme and reason, pale beside a single kiss
And I've heard so many things, I fail to understand at all
I'd settle anytime for unknown footsteps in the hall outside
And all I know for sure, all I know for real
Is knowing doesn't mean so much
When placed against the feeling, the heat inside
When bodies meet, when fingers touch
Because the world is cruel and promises are broken
Don't try to tell me anything, don't try to tell me
You'll be true to me, you know the real truth is never spoken
And I know the world is cold but if you hold on tight to what you
Find you might not mind too much though
Even this must pass away
And memories may last for years but
Names are just for souvenirs
Some kind of angel, let me look into your eyes
Don't give me why's and wherefore's reason or surprise
I don't care for words that don't belong
And I don't care what you're called, tell me later if at all
I can wait a long, long time, before I hear another love song
Come here I think you're beautiful
My door is open wide
Some kind of angel come inside
Come here I think you're beautiful
I think you're beautiful, beautiful
Some kind of angel come inside
Come here I think you're beautiful
I think you're beautiful
Some kind of angel come inside
Come here I think you're beautiful
My door is open wide
Some kind of stranger come inside
Come here I think you're beautiful
I think you're beautiful, beautiful
Some kind of stranger come inside
Come here I think you're beautiful
I think you're beautiful
Some kind of stranger come inside
Come here I think you're beautiful
My door is open wide
Some kind of stranger come inside
Come here I think you're beautiful
I think you're beautiful, beautiful
Some kind of stranger come inside
Lyrics submitted by AbgruendeDerSeele
Some Kind of Stranger Lyrics as written by Gary Marx Andrew Eldritch
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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the change from "some kind of angel" into "some kind of strange" could a sign on the desperation in the need of love
Call me an optimist trying to find optimism in a Sisters of Mercy song, but I think there is a ray of hope in this one. "Some kind of angel let me look into your eyes"... such a tender line. Maybe he doesn't want to be promised anything, and doesn't what vows to be said that are doomed to be broken...maybe he just wants to remain in silent, mysterious, love with her.
I roughly agree with most of the interpretations. It starts of about a failed relationship, after which he resorts to one night stands - probably on tour. "If it's got a pulse I'll fuck it" the man himself said at around the same time!
a beautiful song, and the meaning... read the words.. its about a meaningful relationship gone wrong, the pain loss and grief, trust destroyed.. and the the return to overnight pleasures with strangers to relieve the emptyness and lonelyness without the need for love or attachments that lead ultimately to pain and dissapointment.. its that simple.
"And all I know for sure All I know for real Is knowing doesn't mean so much When placed against the feeling The heat inside When bodies meet When fingers touch " A reaction against measuring everything (feelings) in words. Andrew wants to explore the feelings without them being named, and "Because the world is cruel and Promises are broken Don't try to tell me Anything don't try to tell me You'll be true to me you know the Real truth is never spoken" are lines that show us that very much is fake, unreal, not genuine. It's about here and now, "names are just for souvenirs". In the first verse it is proved that he once had a beautiful lovestory to tell - but words got in the way, and that he now wants the pure thing - to be emotionally fulfilled.
Not really. The first bit is close, but mostly it's about wanting to get laid with no strings to get over a failed relationship.
Movitz, I'm not sure this is such a beautiful love story. "Unknown footsteps", "my door is open wide" and "names are just for souveneirs" seem to suggest a tale of promiscuity.
"I'd settle anytime for Unknown footsteps in the hall outside."
Another example, as first mentioned on the sadly-defunct "1959 And All That" website, of how of Eldritch's more openly libidinous songs often seem to reference halls or hallways. See also Ribbons ("Her lovers queued up in the hallways...") and Flood I / II ("Her hallway... moves...").
One of the other band members (can't remember who, too lazy to check!) wrote this as a more traditional love song which Eldritch promptly ruined by making it more about how he "wanted to sleep with every woman in the world."
Oh, and I'm pretty sure that "Memories may last for years but/Names are just for souvenirs" is meant to imply that he's more interested in getting freaky than knowing what the person he's getting freaky with is called, since he'll look back on the freak-getting itself and not care what the co-freak getter was called.
...it's about bangin' broads!
well.. since 80% of all SOM lyrics can be related to amphetamine, i think this is one of the more clear cases.
As a heavy user, there is a strong love/hate relationship to the drug, and the metaphore's in much of his lyrics speaks for itself:
"Come here I think you're beautiful My door is open wide Some kind of stranger/angel come inside"
"come inside" could be reffering to injecting as he was probably into needle's at some time to: "Under the gun"
When high on speed, it's a recurring feeling of endless desire towards most anything.. often sexual, but that becomes more clear in other SOM songs.. like "More"
Ehm, have you ever taken speed? If there's one thing it doesn't promote, it's sexual desire. Both this and More are about abandoning the idea of monogamous love, or indeed, possibly love at all, in favour of a more... borad based approach to the satisfaction of the libido.
To me this has always been an ultimate break-up song. One of my favorite songs of all time
"Because the world is cruel and Promises are broken Don't try to tell me Anything don't try to tell me You'll be true to me" --"you know the Real truth is never spoken" --- Ain't that the truth