Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
(Jezebel) they call you Jezebel whenever we walk in
(Jezebel) you're going straight to hell
For wanton acts of sin, they say
And that I'll have to pay
But I need you just this way
(Jezebel) they call you Jezebel for what you like to wear
(Jezebel) you're morally unwell
They say you'll never care for me
But what the fail to see is that your games are the key
(Jezebel) open their eyes to the beauty
Open their hearts to the fun
Open their minds to the idea that you don't own someone
(Jezebel) they call you Jezebel
Whenever men walk by
(Jezebel) they say that they can tell
The longing in your eyes is real
And how you really feel
But they can't see your appeal
Jezebel
(Jezebel) you're going straight to hell
For wanton acts of sin, they say
And that I'll have to pay
But I need you just this way
(Jezebel) they call you Jezebel for what you like to wear
(Jezebel) you're morally unwell
They say you'll never care for me
But what the fail to see is that your games are the key
(Jezebel) open their eyes to the beauty
Open their hearts to the fun
Open their minds to the idea that you don't own someone
(Jezebel) they call you Jezebel
Whenever men walk by
(Jezebel) they say that they can tell
The longing in your eyes is real
And how you really feel
But they can't see your appeal
Jezebel
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The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
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Tracy Chapman
"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.
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Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
This song immediately grabbed me when I first heard the album. Gore should've done a couple of more solo songs like this one in the album. His voice is sublime.
The song can be a bit ambiguous where it can be about this man that only sees the beautiful qualities in this prostitute or simply a woman who has a notorious reputation.
gores voice is so, im not sure how to describe it, he can really sell a song<<<----think sweetest perfection
definitely a highlight track on this album and it stands out even more as its the only Gore sung track on the standard release of SOTU<br /> <br /> xcentric is probably spot on with the prostitute analogy<br /> <br />
Great Song!! And Remember--Jezebel is the name of an evil Queen from the Bible, who (gasp!) wore make-up and was looked at as a kind of harlot.
Jezebel is woman from the bible. i believe she was taken as a demon by corrupting hebrews to adore other idols. Also because of her sexual ways to manipulate people, was gaven to her a prostitute reputation even though she was a queen. She died in disgrace and in public.
Its about a guy that adores this prostitute, cause he sort of feels identified with her, in a profane way. The fact that he cant have her is comparable with what he says about her: you dont own some-one. And when he mentions that they cant see her appeal, he believes he is the only one to do it. She is not ashamed of what she is.
Should be "wanton" acts of sin. Please, let's not dumb down Martin Gore. It's straight off the Depeche Mode website.
aight so i left a jokey interpretation on the page for nlmda. big deal. i have a legit analysis of this song tho so sit tight (tho i realize the last comment on this page was made nearly 5 years ago...... and the last actual interpretation 9. i do have a habit of arriving fashionably late ;) )
something a lot of people dont know is that, according to one of the entries in daryl bamontes devotional/exotic tour diary, martin gore used to do drag. it says in the entry that he went by the drag name brandy i believe the person he is speaking to is not a separate person - no, not a sex worker or nothing like every single interpretation before mine says (get back to me when yall have an original thought for once) - but rather, he is speaking to his drag persona, brandy. im new to drag myself (im a baby lesbian) but the gist of it is that when you do drag, youre not simply trying to look like a gender other than your own; youre putting on a character. youre being someone else entirely, hence why drag kings and queens have drag names. its an alter ego of sorts. this explains why he might write about brandy as if she were a completely different person altogether: because, in essence, she sort of is it has also come to my attention that the other interpretations of this song claim that he is "in love" with the person he is speaking to. while i do agree that he must care for them a lot (lyrics like "i need you just this way," "they say you never care for me," "but they cant see your appeal"), i dont think his feelings towards them are necessarily romantic in nature. if my interpretation is true, that he is speaking to his drag persona, then his bond with this person runs deeper than any romantic or sexual feelings one person could have for another. brandy is a part of him, literally, and that means he shares her thoughts, feelings, and memories (well, depending on how much he was drinking certain nights i guess). that is an indescribably close bond, so id say hed sure as hell care a lot about her, yknow?
i had more written but then i got tired of writing this so i deleted it. anyway this isnt fucking gospel and i absolutely could be wrong about my interpretation but sall good everyone on this website is a dumbass anyway so who cares. anyway martin gore is such an icon and i would kill a man for him. martin gore said gay rights !
@sleemgay69 you sound like a real narc, above everyone else huh?
The darkest song on the album. Very good one.