"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.
On my feet I stand tonight
Stand and step up to the light
An extraordinary man
Unbroken in a breaking light
Forever after days
Stand and make myself a crown
To the table I step alone
Hold my own above the ground
Take my shot under the light
Heroes come the common way
Pull myself into the sky
Wrap me in the banner I made
On my feet I stand tonight
Stand alone inside the air
An extraordinary man
Everything stops and holds me there
Forever after days
Stand and make myself a crown
To the table I step alone
And hold my own above the ground
Take my shot under the light
Heroes come the common way
Pull myself into the sky
Wrap me in the banner I made
Forever after days
Stand and make myself a crown
To the table I step alone
And hold my own above the ground
Take my shot under the light
Heroes come the common way
Pull myself into the sky
Wrap me in the banner I made
Stand and step up to the light
An extraordinary man
Unbroken in a breaking light
Forever after days
Stand and make myself a crown
To the table I step alone
Hold my own above the ground
Take my shot under the light
Heroes come the common way
Pull myself into the sky
Wrap me in the banner I made
On my feet I stand tonight
Stand alone inside the air
An extraordinary man
Everything stops and holds me there
Forever after days
Stand and make myself a crown
To the table I step alone
And hold my own above the ground
Take my shot under the light
Heroes come the common way
Pull myself into the sky
Wrap me in the banner I made
Forever after days
Stand and make myself a crown
To the table I step alone
And hold my own above the ground
Take my shot under the light
Heroes come the common way
Pull myself into the sky
Wrap me in the banner I made
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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,
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
first off, i think it's "stand alone inside the air" and secondly, it's confounding that no one else has commented on this song. i'm not ashamed to admit it's one of my favorites.
the line "unbroken in the breaking light" sums it up perfectly.
a lot of the national's songs have a sense of disparate fortitude... "Mr. November", "All the Wine", "Fake Empire", "Forever After Days"... no matter how humble we pretend to be, we crave attention and feel entitled to the spotlight. "i used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders", "a birthday candle in a circle of black girls", "tiptoe through our shiny city with our diamond slippers on", "on my feet i stand tonight"...
after all, we hold our own against monuments of shit on a daily basis, yet rarely do we receive any form of reward or recognition. and it was this sense that initially drew me in and quickly made me a fan for life. well that, and matt just sounds like a bad ass. anyways, i believe this song is a testament to everything the national stands for, and the following journey is an amalgam of what i profess to be an extraordinary man...
christ - "heroes come the common way" - last supper - "to the table i step alone" - crown of thorns - "stand and make myself a crown" - crucifixion - "hold my own above the ground" - "hold the line! stay with me" - maximus decimus meridius - "what we do in life, echoes an eternity" - "forever after days" - daniel day-lewis - bill the butcher - bloody american flag - also played a boxer - rocky iv -"take my shot under the light" - another bloody american flag - "wrap me in the banner i made"
yes! i love this song also, its one of my favorites partly because of the minimal instrumentation backing Matt, and partly because of the great lyrics.<br /> <br /> it could also mean something about dying, or wanting to die, <br /> <br /> take my shot under the light, heroes come a common way<br /> pull myself into the sky, wrap me in the banner i made<br /> <br /> also maybe something about making himself a martyr and killing himself, once he has achieved martyrdom.
@mrcricket well, it's years later and you will never read this reply. but all this time has passed and this is still probably my favorite National song. sometimes I listen to it in my cars for days and days on repeat. it puts me in a certain frame of mind when i hear it. i can't interpret the words but it makes me thing of some type of highlander or some hero of old readying for war, wrapped in the banner - his flag, his uniform. and after the battle, he is gone now forever, after the days of war. i'm terrible about interpreting - but i always think this would be such a great song in a soundtrack watching a man readying himself for battle.
This could be interpreted as a song about Jesus, but I think its about Christians who try to live like Christ. It's mocking the self-righteousness that's prevalent in the Christian community. "Take my shot under the light, heroes come the common way, pull myself into the sky, wrap me in the banner I made" I claim to be a Christian, but I constantly struggle with the root of my sinful nature (self-righteousness) and continually pray for faith in Christ alone.
Amen to that! Keep it up though
Sounds like it's about Jesus to me, but what do I know?
This definitely doesn't have any religious ties, the National strictly does not write about issues involving religion.
But I do agree with mrcricket as far as the rest of his interpretation. The National frequently write about feeling entitled for enduring the mundane.
"a lot of the national's songs have a sense of disparate fortitude... "Mr. November", "All the Wine", "Fake Empire", "Forever After Days"... no matter how humble we pretend to be, we crave attention and feel entitled to the spotlight. "i used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders", "a birthday candle in a circle of black girls", "tiptoe through our shiny city with our diamond slippers on", "on my feet i stand tonight"...
after all, we hold our own against monuments of shit on a daily basis, yet rarely do we receive any form of reward or recognition."