"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.
Show me the dirt pile and I will pray that the soul can take
Three stowaways
Vanish with no guile and I will not pay, but the soul can wait
The soul can wait
Well, it is still pretty what with all these leaks
We'll be fine
We'll be fine
But if it's still pretty what with all these leaks
Will we find, oh
And supervise
Show me the dirt pile and I will pray that the soul can take
Three stowaways
And you vanish with no guile and I will not pay, but the soul can wait
I felt you so much today
I know you try, you try straight into my heart
You fly straight into my heart
Girl, I know you try
You fly straight into my heart
You fly straight into my heart
But here comes the fall
So much for make believe and not so
So much for dreams we see but not prepared to know
Your heart makes me feel, your heart makes me moan
For always and ever I'll never let go
Always concealed, safe and inside, alive
Show me the dirt pile and I will pray that the soul can take
Three stowaways
In a passion it broke, I pull the black from the gray, but the soul can wait
I felt you so much today
Three stowaways
Vanish with no guile and I will not pay, but the soul can wait
The soul can wait
Well, it is still pretty what with all these leaks
We'll be fine
We'll be fine
But if it's still pretty what with all these leaks
Will we find, oh
And supervise
Show me the dirt pile and I will pray that the soul can take
Three stowaways
And you vanish with no guile and I will not pay, but the soul can wait
I felt you so much today
I know you try, you try straight into my heart
You fly straight into my heart
Girl, I know you try
You fly straight into my heart
You fly straight into my heart
But here comes the fall
So much for make believe and not so
So much for dreams we see but not prepared to know
Your heart makes me feel, your heart makes me moan
For always and ever I'll never let go
Always concealed, safe and inside, alive
Show me the dirt pile and I will pray that the soul can take
Three stowaways
In a passion it broke, I pull the black from the gray, but the soul can wait
I felt you so much today
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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."
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,
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.
this song, pioneer to the falls, is about the brutal murder of imette st. guillen in 2006 in NYC. the pioneer was the first bar she went to with friends. she left alone and walked to the falls(another bar) at the falls she was kidnapped, raped, tortured and murdered. her body was found in the rubble of a vacant lot the next day.
This song has ambiguous lyrics, like most Interpol songs. Therefore it does not likely refer to a singular historical event.
For a band that emphasizes ambiguous lyrics, reference to a particular historical event does not make sense. I think these lyrics contain rich meaning which differ for each person and for each listen/read.
Excellent combination with Banks' baritone vocals.
lol i just got to page three and read all this factual information. isnt that so cool how interpol songs can mean COMPLETELY different things to people?
The first page of this thread is making me positively crap myself laughing. "I think it's about going out with that special someone?" Really? Uh, okay.
Anyway, from the first listen to this song, I immediately thought of a man kneeling at the grave of his lover with their children/family, begging her to take them with her. After reading the comments regarding the song being about the St. Guillen murder, it makes so much sense. The three stowaways could be referring to St. Guillen's best friend who was the last to see her alive, as well as her mother and sister.
Basically, this song is pretty, but it's eerie as hell.
Check out some comments at Radiohead - Climbing up the walls, it's hilarious :D
Most Interpol songs have cryptic lyrics. This song is definitely no exception. A relation to a particular historical event is unlikely and a stretch of interpretation to stabilize the otherwise rich meanings to an event in 2006 is probably not correct.
I loove this one Heard it for the first time live! It just oozes textures and such
I think its about going out with that special some one
beautiful and flawless.
it flies straight into my heart
Love it. Paul's voice sounds so nice on this track.
This is one of the best Interpol songs so far, but unfortunately he uses such an abstracvt vocabulary that I (as a non-native speaker) don't get the meaning of the song, especially the meaning chorus...
could anyone explicate it to me, please?;)
i think the meaning of this song is in the title. it is called pioneer to the falls. this would be a parallelism to the murder of Imette St. Guillen since on the night of her murder she went from the Pioneer bar to the Falls bar. that's at least my 2 cents. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imette_St._Guillen for reference