"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.
Back on the road again, feeling kinda lonely and
Looking for the right guy who'd be mine
Friends say I'm crazy 'cause easily I fall in love
"You gotta do it different J, this time"
Maybe we'll meet at a bar
He'll drive a funky car
Maybe we'll meet at a club
And fall so deeply in love
He'll tell me I'm the one
And we'll have so much fun
I'll be the girl of his dreams, maybe
Alright, maybe gonna find him today
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Alright, baby, come and pass my way
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah-yeah-yeah
I spoil them when I'm in love
Givin' them what they dream of
Sometimes it's not a good thing but I'm blind
I love hard with everything
Giving my all more than they
I'll take my friends' advice this time
I'll do it differently
Maybe we'll meet at a bar
He'll drive a funky car
Maybe we'll meet at a club
And fall so deeply in love
He'll tell me I'm the one
And we'll have so much fun
I'll be the girl of his dreams, maybe
Alright, maybe gonna find him today
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Alright, baby, come and pass my way
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah-yeah-yeah
My, my, looking for a guy, guy
I don't want him too shy
But he's gotta have the qualities
That I like in a man
Strong, smart, affectionate
He's gotta be all for me
And I'll be too, you see, happily
Maybe we'll meet at a bar
He'll drive a funky car
Maybe we'll meet at a club
And fall so deeply in love
He'll tell me I'm the one
And we'll have so much fun
I'll be the girl of his dreams, maybe
Alright, maybe gonna find him today
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Alright, baby, come and pass my way
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Alright, maybe gonna find him today
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Alright, baby, come and pass my way
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Maybe we'll meet at a bar (ah-yeah, ah-yeah)
He'll drive a funky car (ah-yeah, ah)
Maybe we'll meet at a club (ah-yeah, ah-yeah)
And fall so deeply in love (ah-yeah, ah-yeah-yeah-yeah)
He'll tell me I'm the one (ah-yeah, ah-yeah)
And we'll have so much fun (ah-yeah, ah-yeah)
I'll be the girl of his dreams maybe (ah-yeah, ah-yeah)
(Ah-yeah, ah-yeah-yeah-yeah)
Alright, maybe gonna find him today
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Alright, baby, come and pass my way
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Looking for the right guy who'd be mine
Friends say I'm crazy 'cause easily I fall in love
"You gotta do it different J, this time"
Maybe we'll meet at a bar
He'll drive a funky car
Maybe we'll meet at a club
And fall so deeply in love
He'll tell me I'm the one
And we'll have so much fun
I'll be the girl of his dreams, maybe
Alright, maybe gonna find him today
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Alright, baby, come and pass my way
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah-yeah-yeah
I spoil them when I'm in love
Givin' them what they dream of
Sometimes it's not a good thing but I'm blind
I love hard with everything
Giving my all more than they
I'll take my friends' advice this time
I'll do it differently
Maybe we'll meet at a bar
He'll drive a funky car
Maybe we'll meet at a club
And fall so deeply in love
He'll tell me I'm the one
And we'll have so much fun
I'll be the girl of his dreams, maybe
Alright, maybe gonna find him today
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Alright, baby, come and pass my way
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah-yeah-yeah
My, my, looking for a guy, guy
I don't want him too shy
But he's gotta have the qualities
That I like in a man
Strong, smart, affectionate
He's gotta be all for me
And I'll be too, you see, happily
Maybe we'll meet at a bar
He'll drive a funky car
Maybe we'll meet at a club
And fall so deeply in love
He'll tell me I'm the one
And we'll have so much fun
I'll be the girl of his dreams, maybe
Alright, maybe gonna find him today
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Alright, baby, come and pass my way
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Alright, maybe gonna find him today
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Alright, baby, come and pass my way
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah
Ah-yeah, ah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Maybe we'll meet at a bar (ah-yeah, ah-yeah)
He'll drive a funky car (ah-yeah, ah)
Maybe we'll meet at a club (ah-yeah, ah-yeah)
And fall so deeply in love (ah-yeah, ah-yeah-yeah-yeah)
He'll tell me I'm the one (ah-yeah, ah-yeah)
And we'll have so much fun (ah-yeah, ah-yeah)
I'll be the girl of his dreams maybe (ah-yeah, ah-yeah)
(Ah-yeah, ah-yeah-yeah-yeah)
Alright, maybe gonna find him today
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Alright, baby, come and pass my way
I gotta get someone to call my lover
Yeah, baby, come on
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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.
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.
One of my favorite Janet songs.. ^_^
I think it samples off an older song, though. I forget the name of it. Either way, it's still a good hook.
@shikonaori Ventura Highway by America.