"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.
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
Into the night
Desperate and broken
The sound of a fight
Father has spoken
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
We were the Kings and Queens of promise
We were the victims of ourselves
Maybe the Children of a Lesser God
Between Heaven and Hell
Heaven and Hell
Into your lives
Hopeless and Taken
We stole our new lives....through blood and name
In defense of our dreams
In defense of our dreams
We were the Kings and Queens of promise
We were the victims of ourselves
Maybe the Children of a Lesser God
Between Heaven and Hell
Heaven and Hell
The age of man is over
A darkness comes at dawn
These lessons that we learned here
Have only just begun
We were the Kings and Queens of promise
We were the Phantoms of ourselves
Maybe the Children of a Lesser God
Between Heaven and Hell
We are the Kings
We are the Queens
We are the Kings
We are the Queens
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
Into the night
Desperate and broken
The sound of a fight
Father has spoken
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
We were the Kings and Queens of promise
We were the victims of ourselves
Maybe the Children of a Lesser God
Between Heaven and Hell
Heaven and Hell
Into your lives
Hopeless and Taken
We stole our new lives....through blood and name
In defense of our dreams
In defense of our dreams
We were the Kings and Queens of promise
We were the victims of ourselves
Maybe the Children of a Lesser God
Between Heaven and Hell
Heaven and Hell
The age of man is over
A darkness comes at dawn
These lessons that we learned here
Have only just begun
We were the Kings and Queens of promise
We were the Phantoms of ourselves
Maybe the Children of a Lesser God
Between Heaven and Hell
We are the Kings
We are the Queens
We are the Kings
We are the Queens
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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Plastic Bag
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“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.
Hmm, Ill give it a shot. Btw, it should be "We were the VICTIMS of ourselves" not "phantoms"
V1-"Into the night"... I think this verse means confronting reality and suffering because of it
Chorus- "We were the Kings and Queens of promise.." (Past tense) Our potential has been corrupted by our ambitions. Worshiping a "lesser god" (aka money, sex, power). "Between Heaven and Hell" meaning not quite good and not quite evil. Or probably, of the earth... worshiping man-made values and not the ones the devil or God has given us.
V2- "Into your lives..." We were so desperate for our new ambitions that we harmed others
V3- "The age of man is over.." We're basically destroying ourselves and the "lessons that we learned...have only just begun" could mean that we have to learn to live with the decisions we've made
"We are the Kings, We are the Queens" x2 (Present tense) I see this as a more hopeful stance. They dont say "of promise" because we are already past that promise. Though we've made mistakes, we learn from them, correct them and live with them to stand tall as Kings and Queens the way we are now
Good analysis, I have to agree you broke it down pretty well.
"worshiping man-made values and not the ones the devil or God has given us."<br /> <br /> seriously, where would we be with out tools?<br /> "man-made" need not be a mark inferior
Good job your meaning fits perfectly
When I read the lyrics, I felt that the song wasn't as hopeful as it made me feel. After reading your analysis, which I feel is spot on, it was once again hopeful to me! Thanks.
Hey I thought this analysis was great. I just have one more point to add on to the last part.<br /> <br /> "We are the Kings, We are the Queens" x2<br /> <br /> I agree that they don't say "of promise" because we already he's referring to a new generation. I believe the fact that kids are singing the chorus which leads out to the end of the song emphasizes your point. It's the next generation learning from the mistakes of the past, the new Kings and Queens.
That was poorly written, but I think it's understandable. I'm embarrassed for not checking my writing. hah!
This song borrows many ideas from the Gnostic belief system and existential philosophy. Jared said the idea from the song was taken from a book in their studio which could easily have contained these Ideas. Gnosticism believes that an imperfect god created the world, and all things in it, and nothing is perfect because it was created by an imperfect god. Nietzsche wrote a parable about the death of God in his "Gay Science" which is used to show how people no longer look to God for their assertion of right and wrong and now moral right and wrong is decided by each person through their actions.
The first verse, "Into the night Desperate and Broken..." shows people coming into this time where God is no longer there to help them make their choices and fights have broken out by people disagreeing over what makes something morally right, and religion plays a big part in this fight as it makes note of "Father has spoken."
The Chorus then is about how the age of religion has risen and fallen. With the prophesises of the Kings and Queens over people are only phantoms of what they were created to be and who they were during this age of religion. "Maybe the children of a lesser god" shows how people are imperfect and must make their own decisions without relying on God. "Between Heaven and Hell" says that people live on Earth and rule this realm for themselves.
"Into your lives hopeless and taken..." is about how people will no longer be held captive under the yoke of religion and break free to accomplish their dreams by making their own decisions.
"The age of Man is over..." follows Nietzsche's idea of the ubermensch, which means overman, about how after the death of God and ultimate morality people will have to progress into a people who make their own morality. People will no longer be human beings, mankind, but a greater being by asserting their own morality.
"We are the Kings, We are the Queens..." then asserts our place of prominence in this new age of being greater beings.
Please comment. I would love to hear what you have to say on my interpretation.
ohh, well i don't know. I really have no idea of what you're talking about but the way you explain it makes it have a LOTTT of sence. I think is an option, because is very known that Jared reads a lot and is always trying to send messages about books or theories of life, so who knows. It does make a lot of sence, but i don't think they would have made such a big deal for a song with this meaning, it very possible that you're right; but i preffer to think that it is as said before, about the humanity self destruction. And of course it can have alternative meanings according to everybody's point of view.
u got it right on point...i believe Jared was influenced by the existential nihilism literature. its so dark, we can only create our own morals..
I also have been thinking that Leto's lyrics reference an end to this age of humanity. He seems to be operating with a lot of passion, as if he is on a mission. Not sure of his mission, tho. I guess we all connect with him where his message is in sync with our own personal beliefs. I know he grew up with a very progressive mother and lived in hippie communes in his youth. To me, he is an optimistic leader ~ trying to create an army of youth and empowering them to move forward with purpose in making a positive impact on this Earth ~ in a sense ushering in a new consciousness, where we are not just looking out for ourselves, but for one another and the planet as a whole. I see this in his environmental focus, too. Such concern for the planet. This is a great song, very powerful.
This song is about the destruction that humanity has created upon itself. We are ending ourselves. But the song makes it seem like the end is okay. I feel as if it's suggesting humanity's acceptance of it's demise simply because our time is over. We had our chance, we had our lives, but we didn't do what was necessary to create a better world. now it's up to the universe to take us away. I love the line "children of a lesser god between heaven and hell". It's like we're too naive and narcissistic to see that the God we know (or think we know) isn't at all what we hope to be, much less deserve. A beautiful song that could change the world.
I think you're spot on. 30STM's activism in the environment as well as humanity leaves a huge imprint.
agreed. i love this song to pieces.<br /> film clips awesome and its just got that awesome vibe.
Into the night Desperate and broken The sound of a fight Father has spoken
The struggle of man's inner darkness combating the goodness suppressed in man's heart. This can also be seen as the nurturing voice of God.
We were the Kings and Queens of promise We were the victims of ourselves Maybe the Children of a Lesser God Between Heaven and Hell Heaven and Hell
Long before the onset of our hedonistic intentions and selfish interests before ourselves, we were the future all the rest of us depended on. But we became the victims of our own ambitious and selfish desires and dreams that didn't contribute to the weak, the broken, and the damned. We would idolize things of materialistic value. We contributed to a weaker greatness and let what matters become forgotten or condemned. A neutral people we've become, neither our dark totality or our most virtuous.
Into your lives Hopeless and Taken We stole our new lives Through blood and pain In defense of our dreams In defense of our dreams
We justified our designs and convictions through the sacrifice of others, weaker than ourselves. We took and took and never returned to those who could give their all only to be unrewarded and become lost to the mercy of humanity.
We were the Kings and Queens of promise We were the Phantoms of ourselves Maybe the Children of a Lesser God Between Heaven and Hell Heaven and Hell
(Repeated verse)
The age of man is over A darkness comes and all These lessons that we learned here Have only just begun
Our way of life as we know it shall come to pass and end at our own hands. We are an immature children that must learn from our mistakes. We've only began to understand ourselves and our world. The end is essentially only the beginning as we take on new lessons from our mistakes.
We were the Kings and Queens of promise We were the victims of ourselves Maybe the Children of a Lesser God Between Heaven and Hell
(Repeated verse)
We are the Kings We are the Queens We are the Kings We are the Queens
A sublime reminder of who we are and who we can still live up to be. The kings and queens of our destiny, our future. Will we take this message with our hearts and work together to achieve our dreams, or better mankind? Which is right or wrong now?
What do you guys think the song actually means? Anyone know?
Love the sound, talented group, especially Jared Leto. Respect him for being an actor and pursuing a passion with music as well.
To make it as religious as possible which is what it seems to be:
the night before Israel was supposed to enter the Promised Land that their Father told them was theirs to take, they sent spies to check it out, but they came back fearing that the people of the land would destroy them and not trusting God's word. We were shadows of what we were meant to be as the image bearers of God and became children of wrath [or Satan] through our disobedience. I have no clue about the middle verse but the last hints to an afterlife in which we will know the reason for our existence. That is what we are all after, right?
We are the kings and queens of a new promise through Jesus Christ our Lord
I don't know, although I applaud any deduction of reasoning to find meaning in words. So, I like the afterlife thought, but I think it's a stretch. <br /> <br /> There's a parable somewhere in the Bible about an incoming army just trampling down a field toward a defending army. At the last moment a defending soldier holds up a baby, and the attackers immediately stop in their tracks. I may be remembering this completely wrong, but it dramatically shows a baby stopping a war. Children can remind us what it means to live, and they can also grow to make better attempts at living rightly.<br /> <br /> I can definitely see a parallel in this song to the hope of Jesus Christ found in Christ's birth. This song ends in hope. If you think about the first humans, Adam and Eve, they were the king and queen of earth. They were told to rule over everything that had the breath of life in it (although this does not mean we can selfishly dominate living creatures because we were the chosen ones). We were made to cultivate these precious gifts, because when you receive a gift you don't throw it in a moldy shed.<br /> <br /> The children echoing the chorus in the end lead me to believe that our kids are the new Kings and Queens of tomorrow. They can live without making the same mistakes older folks have made. We can learn about the Holocaust and the most atrocious events in history which degrade what it means to participate in a higher, moral world of enlightenment, or to be man. A bit of humanity dies when man loses respect for man.
this cd is alot better tan their older stuff. im impressed. gtreat video to.
kings and queens for me the title tell the story. its about us the one who rule our self the one who make choice the one who suffer for our own mistake.
we make the choice no one can tell u what to do but can guide u.
in the end you are the one who rule choose,and suffer. for the choice that we have made.
you are the kings and queens for your self.....
nice 8-)
xD been excited for this for ages
This is such an AWESOME song!!!! it's so ...... inspiring, and i can't wait to hear the full album!!! provehito in altum