"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.
I see the shapes
I remember from maps
I see the shoreline
I see the whitecaps
A baseball diamond
Nice weather down there
I see the school
And the houses where the kids are
Places to park
By the fac'tries and buildings
Restaurants and bars
For later in the evening
Then we come to the farmlands
And the undeveloped areas
And I have learned
How these things work together
I see the parkway
That passes through them all
And I have learned
How to look at these things and I say
I wouldn't live there if you paid me
I wouldn't live like that, no siree
I wouldn't do the things the way those people do
I wouldn't live there if you paid me to
I guess it's healthy
I guess the air is clean
I guess those people
Have fun with their neighbors and friends
Look at that kitchen
And all of that food
Look at them eat it
I guess it tastes real good
They grow it in those farmlands
Then they bring it to the store
They put it in the car trunk
Then they bring it back home and I say
I wouldn't live there if you paid me
I wouldn't live like that, no siree
I wouldn't do the things the way those people do
I wouldn't live there if you paid me to
I'm tired of looking
Out the window of the airplane
I'm tired of traveling
I want to be somewhere
It's not even worth talking
About those people down there
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, goo, goo
Ga, ga, ga, ga
I remember from maps
I see the shoreline
I see the whitecaps
A baseball diamond
Nice weather down there
I see the school
And the houses where the kids are
Places to park
By the fac'tries and buildings
Restaurants and bars
For later in the evening
Then we come to the farmlands
And the undeveloped areas
And I have learned
How these things work together
I see the parkway
That passes through them all
And I have learned
How to look at these things and I say
I wouldn't live there if you paid me
I wouldn't live like that, no siree
I wouldn't do the things the way those people do
I wouldn't live there if you paid me to
I guess it's healthy
I guess the air is clean
I guess those people
Have fun with their neighbors and friends
Look at that kitchen
And all of that food
Look at them eat it
I guess it tastes real good
They grow it in those farmlands
Then they bring it to the store
They put it in the car trunk
Then they bring it back home and I say
I wouldn't live there if you paid me
I wouldn't live like that, no siree
I wouldn't do the things the way those people do
I wouldn't live there if you paid me to
I'm tired of looking
Out the window of the airplane
I'm tired of traveling
I want to be somewhere
It's not even worth talking
About those people down there
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, ga, ga, ga
Goo, goo, goo, goo
Ga, ga, ga, ga
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
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,
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
David Byrne quote from an interview: "'Don't Worry About The Government' is about liking ordinary things, living in a modern condominium and working in an office. I wrote "The Big Country" about hating that kind of stuff. I thought I had to be fair"
I think part of this song he means honestly, but part of it is making fun of the character he's playing. Saying, "it's not even worth talking about those people down there" would be incredibly arrogant if he meant it.
Saying, "it's not even worth talking about those people down there" would be incredibly arrogant if he meant it. <br /> <br /> NYT and other elitist newsrags say it all the time...