"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.
Standing on the moon
I got no cobweb on my shoe
Standing on the moon
I'm feeling so alone and blue
I see the gulf of Mexico
As tiny as a tear
The coast of California
Must be somewhere over here, over here
Standing on the moon
I see the battle rage below
Standing on the moon
I see the soldiers come and go
There's a metal flag beside me
Someone planted long ago
Old glory standing stiffly
Crimson, white and indigo, indigo
I see all of southeast Asia
I can see El Salvador
I hear the cries of children
And the other songs of war
It's like a mighty melody
That rings down from the sky
Standing here upon the moon
I watch it all roll by, all roll by
Standing on the moon
With nothing else to do
A lovely view of heaven
But I'd rather be with you
Standing on the moon
I see a shadow on the sun
Standing on the moon
The stars go fading one by one
I hear a cry of victory
And another of defeat
A scrap of age old lullaby
Down some forgotten street
Standing on the moon
Where talk is cheap and vision true
Standing on the moon
But I would rather be with you
Somewhere in San Francisco
On a back porch in July
Just looking up to heaven
At this crescent in the sky
Standing on the moon
With nothing left to do
A lovely view of heaven
But I'd rather be with you, be with you
I got no cobweb on my shoe
Standing on the moon
I'm feeling so alone and blue
I see the gulf of Mexico
As tiny as a tear
The coast of California
Must be somewhere over here, over here
Standing on the moon
I see the battle rage below
Standing on the moon
I see the soldiers come and go
There's a metal flag beside me
Someone planted long ago
Old glory standing stiffly
Crimson, white and indigo, indigo
I see all of southeast Asia
I can see El Salvador
I hear the cries of children
And the other songs of war
It's like a mighty melody
That rings down from the sky
Standing here upon the moon
I watch it all roll by, all roll by
Standing on the moon
With nothing else to do
A lovely view of heaven
But I'd rather be with you
Standing on the moon
I see a shadow on the sun
Standing on the moon
The stars go fading one by one
I hear a cry of victory
And another of defeat
A scrap of age old lullaby
Down some forgotten street
Standing on the moon
Where talk is cheap and vision true
Standing on the moon
But I would rather be with you
Somewhere in San Francisco
On a back porch in July
Just looking up to heaven
At this crescent in the sky
Standing on the moon
With nothing left to do
A lovely view of heaven
But I'd rather be with you, be with you
Lyrics submitted by itsmyownmind
Standing On the Moon Lyrics as written by Robert C. Hunter Jerome J. Garcia
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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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
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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.
Hey i'll be the first to comment on this Great song.
To me it's about wanting to get away from all the crap in the world (war, children starving etc) and dreaming about standing on the moon and being happy to be away from all the garbage. Then the singer realizes that the person he loves is still on earth, and despite all the uglieness of the world, he wants to be back there (despite the lovely view of heaven) because that is where the person he loves is. it's sort of a hidden love song.
Just another example of why the man is one of the best at what he does, Robert Hunter only gets better with age ... like a fine wine.
couldn't have said it any other way Hedges
to me this song feels for a hidden message... it could be a declaration of love but I see it as rather a messge of love and also solitude. I could go on, but not right now.
this song reminds me so much of my mother.... it was her favorite dead song and she listened to it all the time... it's so sad and solemn i don't know why but i really like when he says the gulf of mexico is as tiny as a tear
My mom passed away recently and this song seems to keep me connected to her...she's up there with a lovely view of heaven although she'd rather be here. I love the Grateful Dead.
One of my favorite songs- One of the few songs that the Dead decided to make a political statement-it is an anti-war song for them. Like so many of their songs it is easy to take it and make it have a personal meaning for yourself. For me it reminds me of my cousin who was more like a brother to me-we would go to the shows and have a great time-well he passed almost seven years ago and I think about him everyday-I believe he is up there loving the sights but just like the song I think he would rather be down here with me still going to and loving the shows