"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.
Fog lifts from the harbor, dawn goes down today
An agent crests the shadows of the nearby alleyway
Piles of broken bricks, sign posts on the path
Every moment points towards the aftermath
Yeah ah ah
Sailors straggle back from their nights out on the town
Hopeless urchins from the city gather around
Spies from imperial China wash in with the tide
Every battle heads toward surrender on both sides
And I am coming home to you
With my own blood in my mouth
And I am coming home to you
If it’s the last thing that I do
Bells ring in the tower, wolves howl in the hills
Chalk marks show up on a few high windowsills
And a rabbit gives up somewhere, and a dozen hawks descend
Every moment leads toward its own sad end
Yeah ah ah
Ships loosed from their moorings capsize and then they’re gone
Sailors with no captains watch awhile and then move on
And an agent crests the shadows and I head in her direction
All roads lead toward the same blocked intersection
I am coming home to you
With my own blood in my mouth
And I am coming home to you
If it’s the last thing that I do
An agent crests the shadows of the nearby alleyway
Piles of broken bricks, sign posts on the path
Every moment points towards the aftermath
Yeah ah ah
Sailors straggle back from their nights out on the town
Hopeless urchins from the city gather around
Spies from imperial China wash in with the tide
Every battle heads toward surrender on both sides
And I am coming home to you
With my own blood in my mouth
And I am coming home to you
If it’s the last thing that I do
Bells ring in the tower, wolves howl in the hills
Chalk marks show up on a few high windowsills
And a rabbit gives up somewhere, and a dozen hawks descend
Every moment leads toward its own sad end
Yeah ah ah
Ships loosed from their moorings capsize and then they’re gone
Sailors with no captains watch awhile and then move on
And an agent crests the shadows and I head in her direction
All roads lead toward the same blocked intersection
I am coming home to you
With my own blood in my mouth
And I am coming home to you
If it’s the last thing that I do
Lyrics submitted by mdon06
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Fast Car
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Mountain Song
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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."
john darnielle and jeffery lewis made a comic explaining each song on the new album, you can look at it here:
thejeffreylewissite.com/Mt-Goats-Press-Kit-08.html
Hearing this song for the first time completely overwhelmed me.
"Every moment leads toward its own sad end" is my favorite line.
I like that this song stands on its own, but also could be a scene from a novel. Sax Rohmer was the author of the Fu Manchu books (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sax_Rohmer). While I haven't read them, this scene certainly seems like it could fit in.
i imagine it to be like a futuristic war setting, but this soldier is determined to see his sweetheart again
"i am coming back to you, with my own blood in my mouth"
probably wrong, but oh well this is such a powerful song, like all their songs!
can't wait to hear this album, this was a great little tease though. I'm in love with this line personally: "a rabbit gives up somewhere, and a dozen hawks descend"
I love the epic scope and mood of this song. Everything is falling apart around him, and he has his mind set only on getting back home.
Will there be a Sax Rohmer #2?
I am probably reading too much into this (but isn't that the fun with John's songs?) but the line "Dawn goes down today" is from Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay". The last line of the poem is "So Dawn Goes Down Today/ Nothing Gold Can Stay". It could be a coincidence, but both the poem and a great deal of John's songs seem to deal with lost childhood. Just a thought!
Well, assuming that each song on 'Heretic Pride' fits in with the titular notion (i.e. people reviled for their beliefs/actions but stubbornly sticking to them), then this is about Sax Rohmer the author of the Fu Manchu novels.
It seems to be a kind of snapshot of his creative mind's output, with all the associated Fu Manchu stuff (spies from imperial China etc.).
For those who don't know, Wikipedia told me that Sax Rohmer once ridiculed the suggestion that his novels were racist in tone towards Chinese people by saying something like "but all Chinese people are like that". Hence, heretic pride...
Well, John said that with this song he just threw words against a wall and hoped they stuck, but I think that people could develop infinate meanings from it :)
This is the first Mountain Goats song I ever heard, and I've been in love with Darnielle's work ever since :)