"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.
A winter's day
In a deep and dark December
I am alone
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow
I am a rock
I am an island
I've built walls
A fortress deep and mighty
That none may penetrate
I have no need of friendship, friendship causes pain
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain
I am a rock
I am an island
Don't talk of love
But I've heard the word before
It's sleeping in my memory
I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died
If I never loved I never would have cried
I am a rock
I am an island
I have my books
And my poetry to protect me
I am shielded in my armor
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb
I touch no one and no one touches me
I am a rock
I am an island
And a rock feels no pain
And an island never cries
In a deep and dark December
I am alone
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow
I am a rock
I am an island
I've built walls
A fortress deep and mighty
That none may penetrate
I have no need of friendship, friendship causes pain
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain
I am a rock
I am an island
Don't talk of love
But I've heard the word before
It's sleeping in my memory
I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died
If I never loved I never would have cried
I am a rock
I am an island
I have my books
And my poetry to protect me
I am shielded in my armor
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb
I touch no one and no one touches me
I am a rock
I am an island
And a rock feels no pain
And an island never cries
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The song is about his desire to avoid pain and brokenheartedness. He doesn't want to be hurt again, so he refuses to make friends, to fall in love, he'll be a hermit. It may sound determined, but by the end of the song it's obvious it's all a lie he tells himself to get through the days. He's alone and it hurts him, but he'll tell himself he likes it that way, hoping it won't hurt so badly. The last two lines explain it; he's not a rock, he's been hurt and has cried, but will pretend not to. The "island never cries" line is possibly the most meaningful part. As he says this, he may as well be crying.
I think you described the meaning of the song just perfect. :) It's sad...<br />
The main point of this song is, avoid emotional attatchments, they only lead to sadness. The lyrics "friendship causes pain" and "If I never loved I never would have cried" express that. The song is about getting hurt once and shutting out everyone else to avoid getting hurt again.
@lila_m The song is ironic. Yes, it says to avoid the pain of emotional attachments, but it means the opposite.
you guys are exectly correct. He wants to isolate himself from the rest of society. But, he is only fooling himself into thinking he can because every symbol he uses is not permanant. Walls get knocked down. You wake up from sleep. You come out of your mother womb after 9 months. Your memory will always come back. Snow melts. December is only 31 days.
He can only shut the world out for so long.
That phrase '...freshly fallen silent shroud of snow', is so beautiful, I can't believe how perfect it is.
And a rock feels no pain; And an island never cries.
i am a rock i am an island
emotional detatchment. we should all be psychologists. there's the meaning of the song. ::thumbs up::
wow talk about over analyzing. dngshouse do you really believe he thought about the song that deeply? do you think he used the word womb so perfectly to match his 'temporary' metaphors? Because when you read the song, it sounds more like he just used it cause it rhymed. It sounds like hes just using various imagery to describe the will to be locked up. when you think about it... what IS permanent? if a rock wall isnt permanent, nothing is. i think you're looking to closely at imagery just meant to be lyrical range, not some deep meaning. bongo is right, though, the last two meanings are the key to the song. they describe what he is (the rock, the island). anyway
yea, dont overanalyze.
You're absolutely right - in truth, nothing is permanent so what he said is nonsense - as George Harrison said, 'all things must pass'. And please, no phoney romantic BS about how love is forever - it's for however long it lasts - now and then 'til death.
@Jinx Of course Simon thought so deeply, he is held as one of the best songwriters of all time. Do you think the brush strokes of Van Gogh are by chance as well? The great artists intend every single stroke and nuance of every single note and second.\r\n\r\nBruce Springsteen recorded over 2000 takes of Jungleland, why do you think he did that, why did the band and studio staff support it? Because it was the search for perfection. \r\nThe search for perfection does not leave something as important as lyrics to chance. \r\n\r\n"Don\'t over analyse?" Well, OK, but the entire point of art is that the beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, so let each establish their own level of meaning. Yours is shallow, not deep, enjoy it, but don\'t tell others to not search for meaning, you will kill artistic exploration with such sentiments and that is a heartbreaking thing to be doing. Open your eyes Jinx, open your mind, and your heart and embrace the depth of meaning and feeling that these artists break themselves to achieve. They did it FOR YOU, so if you chose to ignore it, fine, but do not tell others not to.
Wow! Who needs angry nu-metal to convey the anger and depression of being hurt, when youve got, um, Simon and Garfunkel - Fabulous song!
This song is me.
I fell in love 4 years ago and just a few months later she broke my heart. I've shut out every girl since then, regardless of how good the date(s) were. Interestingly, that girl has come back into my life recently, but I can't even let her through my stone shell anymore.
Simon has his books and poetry. I have my movies and prizefights to watch.
Perhaps I'll snap out of it someday.
Beautiful about longing for human contact whilst dead on the inside eaten up by fear, sorrow and so on, I loved it first time, still do. Outstanding lyrics; easy while serious. A realistic but sad, lonely and anxious poem from rock bottom - a present from a not-so-nice present. Paul S. is a serious and a truthful author. "I am a rock" could be losing a loved one, being lonely and dying, somebody lonely & longing for death, or someone longing for life but frightened and stuck in a labyrinth...It´s made in the spirit of "Paint it, black", but has more hope, a restless urge, a desperate need for something beyond self-loathing, pain & darkness. Inside a fortress worrying for the terrible outside, I always sensed cries for help between the lines. Searching a world without the mercilessness outside. The poetry one protects oneself with=contradiction, to ask the wolf for directions when lost in the forest...
Hmmmmmmmm....ya think.
All of what you said, regarding the situations that could lead to social withdrawal are correct and I think Paul meant this to be a song for all occasions when people feel this way.<br /> He has said in interviews that it troubles him that some (such as Wolfee) seem to consider this an ANTHEM for self-sufficiency and the nobleness and peace of solitude. He has said the song is about the fact that if we are not willing to suffer a little, to be vulnerable to one another, that we will be locked in our own prison and will be very lonely. He meant that to come across as a bad thing, not a good thing. <br /> <br /> Good metaphor (wolf/forest) for that line. He's looking to poetry, a method used to connect human beings spiritually/emotionally with words, as a shield against having to deal with people. Yummy comparison.<br /> <br /> I also think, Maninamac, that you ought to try composing your posts in a word processor first, then paste them to avoid the problem of multiple drafts being published online.
I have just been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome at the age of forty and can really relate to this song. I can empathise with all the lyrics and how I have created my life with walls and safety.
I have very few friends, i'm not sure why, but I have my own office at home and it is my rock. I relate to this song and somehow it helps me. Even know it may not be about this, this is what I take from it.
@gtfyc I hope getting your diagnosis brings you some comfort in knowing a lot of what you have been going through is not your fault. My son is in the same circumstance as you and he has his rocks and island as well. Do you find yourself okay with this or would you like things to be different?