"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 a blood red circle
On the cold dark ground
And the rain is falling down
The church door's thrown open
I can hear the organ's song
But the congregation's gone
My city of ruins
My city of ruins
Now the sweet bells of mercy
Drift through the evening trees
Young men on the corner
Like scattered leaves
The boarded up windows
The empty streets
While my brother's down on his knees
My city of ruins
My city of ruins
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Now there's tears on the pillow
Darlin', where we slept
And you took my heart when you left
Without your sweet kiss
My soul is lost, my friend
Tell me how do I begin again?
My city's in ruins
My city's in ruins
Now with these hands
With these hands
With these hands
With these hands, I pray Lord
With these hands
With these hands
I pray for the strength, Lord
With these hands
With these hands
Yeah, I pray for the faith, Lord
With these hands
With these hands
I pray for your love, Lord
With these hands
With these hands
I pray for the strength, Lord
With these hands
With these hands
I pray for your love, Lord
With these hands
With these hands
Pray for your faith, Lord
With these hands (oh yeah)
With these hands
I pray for the strength, Lord
With these hands (come on)
With these hands (come on)
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
On the cold dark ground
And the rain is falling down
The church door's thrown open
I can hear the organ's song
But the congregation's gone
My city of ruins
My city of ruins
Now the sweet bells of mercy
Drift through the evening trees
Young men on the corner
Like scattered leaves
The boarded up windows
The empty streets
While my brother's down on his knees
My city of ruins
My city of ruins
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Now there's tears on the pillow
Darlin', where we slept
And you took my heart when you left
Without your sweet kiss
My soul is lost, my friend
Tell me how do I begin again?
My city's in ruins
My city's in ruins
Now with these hands
With these hands
With these hands
With these hands, I pray Lord
With these hands
With these hands
I pray for the strength, Lord
With these hands
With these hands
Yeah, I pray for the faith, Lord
With these hands
With these hands
I pray for your love, Lord
With these hands
With these hands
I pray for the strength, Lord
With these hands
With these hands
I pray for your love, Lord
With these hands
With these hands
Pray for your faith, Lord
With these hands (oh yeah)
With these hands
I pray for the strength, Lord
With these hands (come on)
With these hands (come on)
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Ebba Grön
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Holiday
Bee Gees
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
2 months ago my friend died at the young age of 18. It was very tough on his family, friends and others. It was one of the most difficult things I have ever witnessed and can say it the whole week was a complete blur.
I listened to this song one day afterwards and i have never heard a song hit so close to home. The beginning reminded me so much of being at the funeral and seeing his casket being taken away, it was an emotional time in my life. And still is.
Every time I play this song I think of my friend. Come on Rise up!
@bearfan34 my thoughts are with you my friend
this song always brings me back to an intense personal experience. i love bruce springsteen. i love this song.
i live in N.J. so many refrences to locations bruce makes, i know about/have been there. i can say though, Asbury Park is being cleaned up (finally) and its starting to look like the old days. ive also been to the stone pony, where bruce got his start. the joint is so small, but there is just some power there that is un-explainable
I've been a Bruce fan for what seems like forever and I loved this song from the first time I heard it. It now has such special meaning to me as I am a recovering alcoholic. The imagery is so metaphorical with the "city" that is in ruins is my own soul and the "rise up" section to me is about overcoming and moving past the wreckage of my life that I caused myself and others. This song is such a testament to Bruce's song writing as the words work on a lot of different levels for different people. Whenever I think I can't go on this song gives me hope. I cherish what it does for me. Corny maybe but it's true. BRUUUUCE!
Though it's taken on new meaning after 9/11, Bruce wrote this one before then about the decay of Asbury Park. He performed it at the Clearwater festival in AP in August 2001.
You all are wrong. This song is about springsteens life origannaly although that sounds weird it is true. Also, many disasters happened after this song was made and all thought it was made for that disaster such as Katrina. I have visited new orleans and seen the destruction. THIS IS LIKE ITS THEME SONG!
Actually Cherub Rock, Bruce has taken on Asbury Park has his adopted hometown. And if u saw it at its lowest - and how far it had fallen - u'd understand. He didn't exagerate really, just put his emotions behind it.
Living in New Orleans for more than a year now, this song feels so appropriate as the city continues to recover from Katrina. It's amazing how accurate the imagery is; you drive down a street in New Orleans listening to this song and it's like being in the music video.
Love the "Come on rise up!" Resilient bunch these New Orleanians.
This is one of my favorite Bruce songs, because the first album of his that I really heard was The Rising, my mom played it all the time, and I fell in love. I connect with this song so greatly, my city - although clearly not as bad as Asbury Park - used to be so alive and fun. I was driving through the old neighborhood on halloween and looking back. I remembered when I was a kid, how packed the streets would be with kids and families, and the block party every year. This year I only saw a few kids out walking around, but mostly saw a bunch of creepy guys walking around, carrying guns. It's terrible the way things have to change.
That's kind of how my city is. We used to have this nice little theater in town where my family went all the time, and now gangsters hang around the now-closed doors. When my mom and I go on on the bike-paths through the back of town, it's not uncommon to catch a whiff of marijuana from some smokers nearby. You DO NOT walk through the bad parts of town alone at night, period, because in the past people who have were raped and their bodies were found days later. "My Hometown" turns into "Murder Incorporated". I do know exactly what you mean about "The Rising" being your first album, too. For me, my dad is the Springsteen fanatic of my parents, and he turned me into one too. My technical first that I remember has to be Live in Dublin and Magic/Working on a Dream. My dad played them over and over again, especially "If I Should Fall Behind", and I could never get tired of it. I really liked "Mrs. McGrath" back then because of my Irish heritage, and from then on Soozie's violin/fiddle has remained one of my favorite parts of the E Street Band.
kenf62, I've heard the same thing, but surely he changed it a bit since then? I mean, some of the imagery here seems top specific and apocalyptic for a song about a decaying N.J. city.
Great song, very moving. Love the gospel feel. I'm guessing that lots of people found this song very moving when it was released