"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.
Free, alone.
The predawn white light's coming on.
Bottle on the night stand.
I count disasters on my free hand now.
Run for cover there's a big one coming.
You'll be lucky if you're at ground zero.
You'll be lucky if it's got your number.
No one said that this life was easy.
Did that no one ever live a life this hard?
It gets hard.
The bills are scattered in the yard.
Ashtray monument.
A life spent waiting in cement.
After all, it's not that bad.
I still have pictures.
I look back at all the things that we once did.
You said, "I love you."
I guess you did.
Remember our life.
I did the dishes while you read out loud.
Best friends, strangers now.
Were our kids all we could call common ground.
The predawn white light's coming on.
Bottle on the night stand.
I count disasters on my free hand now.
Run for cover there's a big one coming.
You'll be lucky if you're at ground zero.
You'll be lucky if it's got your number.
No one said that this life was easy.
Did that no one ever live a life this hard?
It gets hard.
The bills are scattered in the yard.
Ashtray monument.
A life spent waiting in cement.
After all, it's not that bad.
I still have pictures.
I look back at all the things that we once did.
You said, "I love you."
I guess you did.
Remember our life.
I did the dishes while you read out loud.
Best friends, strangers now.
Were our kids all we could call common ground.
Lyrics submitted by emoJustin
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Wu-Tang Clan
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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.
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“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Page
Ed Sheeran
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There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
great song i don't really have a clean explanation for it though blake introduces it as a song for your parents on the live cd...i still don't get it
The best line of this song is "I count disasters on my free hand now." It has so many different interpretations and connotations:
Why is his hand free? Because he's no longer clasping somebody else's hand. He's alone.
Why counting disasters? Because when you're depressed, the slightest negative can feel monumental. For most a disaster is a singular event, like filing bankruptcy, a loved one dying. His disasters are multiple; everything is going wrong and everything is an overwhelming burden. The fact that he is counting disasters, rather than just accepting them, emphasizes the fact that he is not simply reflecting, but also dwelling, analyzing himself. He is obsessed.
Why his hand? Because the hands are primary sensory organs of the body. His empty hand is numb, without feeling, useless. The hand is also the manipulatory organ of the body, used to control the environment, and his loneliness leaves him impotent, weak, and useless.
Why just one hand? Because an idle hand is the devil's playground and can get you into trouble. He's already referenced drinking/drugs in the third line of the song, and clearly his other hand is busy self-medicating.
This single line is what I like to quote when people ask why I like Jawbreaker so much.
I think this song is about a couple who have divorced and have children and now thier marriage is through the person sees that the only thing that they still had in common when they divorced is their children. They also have known A LOT of misery
I agree with Lord Pembroke, this song is definately about divorce.
When I first heard this song without paying too much attention to the lyrics, I figured it was about a guy looking back on a bad relationship (you said I love you, I guess you did), but the lyric "I did the dishes while you read out loud" brought about more meaning to me-Yes, it is about divorce. The separated parents are struggling, so the children have to take on new responsiblities and end up growing up too fast. In the present, the grown child looks back and "counts distasters on his free hand"
defineately right about the divorce thing. my personal favorite jawbreaker song.
i don't think its about a divorce, it seems to be about a couple that are only stay together because they have kids.