"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.
There's the moon asking to stay
Long enough for the clouds to fly me away
Well it's my time coming, I'm not afraid
Afraid to die
My fading voice sings of love
But she cries to the clicking of time
Oh, time
Wait in the fire, wait in the fire
Wait in the fire, wait in the fire
Fire
And she weeps on my arm
Walking to the bright lights in sorrow
Oh, drink a bit of wine, we both might go tomorrow
Oh, my love
And the rain is falling
And I believe my time has come
It reminds me of the pain I might leave
Leave behind
Wait in the fire, wait in the fire
Wait in the fire, wait in the fire
Fire
(It reminds me of the pain) I might leave
Leave behind
And I feel them drown my name
So easy to know and forget with this kiss
I'm not afraid to go
But it goes so slow, ooh-oh
Wait in the fire, wait in the fire
Oh-oh-oh!
(Wait in the fire, wait in the fire) yeah, yeah, ooh
(Wait in the fire, wait in the fire)
(Wait in the fire, wait in the fire)
Long enough for the clouds to fly me away
Well it's my time coming, I'm not afraid
Afraid to die
My fading voice sings of love
But she cries to the clicking of time
Oh, time
Wait in the fire, wait in the fire
Wait in the fire, wait in the fire
Fire
And she weeps on my arm
Walking to the bright lights in sorrow
Oh, drink a bit of wine, we both might go tomorrow
Oh, my love
And the rain is falling
And I believe my time has come
It reminds me of the pain I might leave
Leave behind
Wait in the fire, wait in the fire
Wait in the fire, wait in the fire
Fire
(It reminds me of the pain) I might leave
Leave behind
And I feel them drown my name
So easy to know and forget with this kiss
I'm not afraid to go
But it goes so slow, ooh-oh
Wait in the fire, wait in the fire
Oh-oh-oh!
(Wait in the fire, wait in the fire) yeah, yeah, ooh
(Wait in the fire, wait in the fire)
(Wait in the fire, wait in the fire)
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Here's what Jeff about Grace during a 1994 interview: "It's about not fearing death, or fearing any of those countless slings and arrows that you suffer sometimes on this earth, because somebody loves you. You're not afraid to go, you're not afraid to withstand what you need to withstand because there's a tremendous fuel that you feel regenerating inside because of someone else's love for you. That's what Grace is about. And it's just about life sometimes being so long. At the time I was anticipating leaving Los Angelos for New York. So I was waiting to go. I'm not afraid to go, I'm not afraid to die, I'm not afraid to go away from this place or from any place but it just goes so slow. And I had somebody who loved me in New York. A lot. And it was amazing. It still is."
That would be nice!
@melusine And "Lover You Should Have Come Over" is about his regret about throwing away that true love. OMG that song always chokes me up.
@ayngermac Ugh I know right! The whole album feels sad:( and the fact that Jeff passed away so shortly after it was released always makes me sad
Jeff said this song was about "not feeling so bad about your own mortality, when you've found true love"
I think the fire is maybe what you could call the torment of existence, the continuous struggle to understand and rationalise one's own existence and being. I think in this song JB is saying that he has come to accept that the struggle cannot be won against death in the end - not that he necessarily wants to die, but more that he is no longer afraid to give in to the ultimate enigma of death, the extinguishing of the 'fire' of existence - "I'm not afraid to go but it goes so slow."
Not at all negative in my opinion. Perhaps a little spooky in conjunction with his young death.
The line "wait in the fire" is a very Sufi idea, which shouldn't be surprising considering Buckley's love of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (according to wikipedia). Rumi, the most famous Islamic mystic, made this summary of his life, "And the result is not more than these three words: I burnt, and burnt, and burnt." The Sufis often say that their love for God is like a fire that cleanses the soul, burning away everything that is not God. And as the Sufi practices fine patience in the midst of this fire, the greater their ecstasy and nearness to God. Also, the miracle of love can't come from the lover, but enters from outside the lover, the lover being completely powerless, hence it's an act of grace that purifies and saves. It's such a beautiful idea put into an incredibly beautiful song.
and I forgot to mention about the line "drink a bit of wine we both might go tomorrow", the Sufis also say that being in love is like being intoxicated by wine, turning us from the side of reason and intellect (or the side that would say "I'm afraid to die") to the side of love and ecstasy (the side that would say "there is no me and you, only God").
Wouldn't drinking a bit of wine reference communion, especially since it is followed with "we both might go tomorrow." There's mention of bright lights; fire; and drowning one's name. I see lots of religious references.
In Buckley's words, "It's about not feeling so bad about your own mortality when you have true love."
what the hell!?! I also love Jeff and feel sorrow from his death, but HE WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN!!! Because he fucking rocked when we was alive and he still rocks when he's dead.
from wikipedia:
" Written about when he moved from L.A. to New York to live with someone he loved, it is about not being afraid of what lies ahead in your life, and taking that leap, in his own words from Live at Sin-é (Legacy Edition), "(It's about) not feeling so bad about your own mortality when you have true love". "
The album "Grace" came out in 1994, Jeff died in 1997. Look at the lyrics! "Well it's my time coming, i'm not afraid to die" and "And the rain is falling and i believe, My time has come. It reminds me of the pain I might leave, Leave behind" Just a coincidence? I can't help, or stop, being stunned by this. Somehow, though his death was an accident, he knew, he KNEW he was going to die. The time-gap is quite big, some people might say... But look at the lyrics again; "I'm not afraid to go but it goes so slow"
I don't really know what to say. It's just... Ah, anyways, Jeff was a genius. A true genius.
@johanne101 This is really late, but I agree, scary stuff! I can't stop thinking about it
@johanne101 This is really late, but I agree, scary stuff! I can't stop thinking about it
Jess Buckley is, was and always will be a genius and a god in my eyes, hes truly unique and will never EVER be forgotten. This song just sums his music up perfectly
"Grace" Is a masterpiece