"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.
Miss Mary Ann
kept her man
in porcupine gloves, in porcupine gloves
and on that day
as scheduled
they made porcupine love, porcupine love
so stiff and stuck and prickly
he came in and then back out quickly
but lord not any quicker than according to plan
like a soldier, one foot in front of the other
Miss Mary Ann
had a man
named Stan, Stan Buttler
he had no antlers
he had no center
he had no enter and he had no exit
his hair was short and prickly
he came in and then back out quickly
but lord not any quicker than according to plan
like a soldier, one foot in front of the other
and how he loved her apple pies,
how he loved her meat loaf,
how he loved her chicken breasts,
how he loved her pudding,
served promptly at eight o'clock,
served promptly at seven
served promptly at ten o'clock,
and promptly at eleven heaven
Miss Mary Ann
kept her cans
in alphabetical order
Miss Marry Ann
began to have
some thoughts of murder
Miss Mary Ann
started to think
real hard about her future
Miss Mary Ann
preferred her meat
to be freshly butchered
oh she killed him rather quickly
man that woman was truly sickly
but lord not any sicker than according to plan
like a soldier, one foot in front of the other
and how he loved her apple pies,
how he loved her meat loaf,
how he loved her chicken breasts,
how he loved her pudding,
served promptly at eight o'clock,
served promptly at seven
served promptly at ten o'clock,
and promptly at eleven heaven
Miss Mary Ann
kept her man
in porcupine gloves, in porcupine gloves
and on that day
as scheduled
they made porcupine love,
porcupine lo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-apchu!
kept her man
in porcupine gloves, in porcupine gloves
and on that day
as scheduled
they made porcupine love, porcupine love
so stiff and stuck and prickly
he came in and then back out quickly
but lord not any quicker than according to plan
like a soldier, one foot in front of the other
Miss Mary Ann
had a man
named Stan, Stan Buttler
he had no antlers
he had no center
he had no enter and he had no exit
his hair was short and prickly
he came in and then back out quickly
but lord not any quicker than according to plan
like a soldier, one foot in front of the other
and how he loved her apple pies,
how he loved her meat loaf,
how he loved her chicken breasts,
how he loved her pudding,
served promptly at eight o'clock,
served promptly at seven
served promptly at ten o'clock,
and promptly at eleven heaven
Miss Mary Ann
kept her cans
in alphabetical order
Miss Marry Ann
began to have
some thoughts of murder
Miss Mary Ann
started to think
real hard about her future
Miss Mary Ann
preferred her meat
to be freshly butchered
oh she killed him rather quickly
man that woman was truly sickly
but lord not any sicker than according to plan
like a soldier, one foot in front of the other
and how he loved her apple pies,
how he loved her meat loaf,
how he loved her chicken breasts,
how he loved her pudding,
served promptly at eight o'clock,
served promptly at seven
served promptly at ten o'clock,
and promptly at eleven heaven
Miss Mary Ann
kept her man
in porcupine gloves, in porcupine gloves
and on that day
as scheduled
they made porcupine love,
porcupine lo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-apchu!
Lyrics submitted by medicine
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
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.
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.
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,
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Isn't this about Mary Anne Cotton, the English killer from the 1800s, who murdered her husbands and children with arsenic in their food?
haha, i thought the same. I was like, man, she really doesn't like Mary-ann.
anyway, i was thinking... this song hints abortion? "he came in and then back out quickly but lord not any quicker than according to plan" seems like an accident happened. and the second time she meantions "he" could refer to the unborn baby... and how she had to eat hourly, pretty much.. and how "he" loved it.. but then she was sick and killed it.
i dont know. maybe it means.. nothing but having sex? maybe its about porcupines.
As Roald Dahl is one of my favourite writers, I immediately recognized this song as being set around one of his small stories called "Lamb to the Slaughter." Here's the link for reference: classicshorts.com/stories/lamb.html
The basics to the story is a woman named Miss Mary Maloney is told by her husband who she loves dearly, that he has been having an affair.
Mary is devastated, as anyone would be after finding out their partner had been cheating on them. Stunned, she offers to make her husband some tea, maybe to try and pretend she hasn't heard what she has just been told. The lines- "How her apple pies, how he loved her meatloaf etc..." to me is Miss Mary thinking in her head how perfect their life was and her thinking about everything she done about for husband, and the lyrics "served promptly at 7 etc.." is a representation of how perfect and routined their married life was. She had always catered to his every need, and then he cheats on her.
When she is on the way to the kitchen, she takes a leg of lamb out of the freezer to cook for him. Upon hearing the freezer door open her husband says: "For God’s sake, don't make supper for me. I'm going out." Mary is infuriated with this, and without thinking hits him over the head with the leg of lamb, killing him outright with a single blow to the head! "Miss Mary Ann preferred her meat to be freshly butchered."
Mary begins to think quickly of how she can cover up her husbands death so heads down to the local grocery store and asks for a tin of peas : "Miss Mary Ann kept her cans in alphabetical order".
When Mary gets home, she phones the police and pretends she has found her husband dead on the floor, she had everything planned from the minute he confessed he was cheating: "According to plan."
This story has quite a shocking, yet funny ending. I won't spoil it for anyone, if you want to read it, just visit that link :)
Yeah as soon as I heard this song I thought of Lamb to the Slaughter.
When you think about it, how can anyone be so terribly perfect and obsessive compulsive without being slightly mental and sick? I think it was only too long before Mary Ann was going to do something like murdering her husband, by the way Regina was describing her.
And I think the sneeze represents something that Mary Ann didn't plan thoroughly like everything else in her life, and it all goes downhill from there for her...
about the sneeze idea - brilliant!!!
marry ann must've kept regina amused for some time lol.
I think the "he" is Mary Ann's man. I think Regina's saying that everything about Mary Ann was mechanical and rigid and planned.
Also, she killed her husband because she went crazy, but not any crazier than according to plan. xD
I have this theory that Regina loved a man named Stan Buttler. But Marry Ann stole him away and Regina says "Killed him rather quickly" which symbolizes how Marry Ann killed the man that Stan Buttler used to be.
the end.
On Soviet Kitsch, in Sailor Song, "Mary Ann's a bitch" is repeated throughout the whole song. obviously, Regina is not terribly fond of her.
Nicely done, Lozeli.
And, SciFiDoubleFeature, you are wrong about your reference to "Sailor Song." Regina is singing from the perspective of the sailors. She never indicates that it is her that thinks "Marry Ann's a bitch." Context.
ive seen some interviews with ms. spektor aying that she often makes up little characters in her head with their own little worlds .....Mary ann must have a lead role....