"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 don't know why I feel this way
I don't know if it's right or wrong to laugh at misfortune
Darkness can never last too long
Every time I think I'm falling
And there's nobody around to hold me up
And it seems like the world has come to an end
I look for miles but not a face is friendly
But then suddenly a hole opens up in the ground
The bottom of the hole is a raging fire
I try to jump over but there's no way
The next thing I know, I'm going down
Does it hurt?
Oh, it really doesn't matter
Does it burn?
Oh, no
Oh, I don't feel a thing
Does it sting?
Oh, yeah, it really doesn't matter
Does it hurt?
Oh, I don't give a damn
When I find myself falling and I hit the bottom
It only makes me laugh
It only makes me laugh
When I go down the hole and I hit the bottom--
The last time that I fell in love
The love was milk and honey but the milk turned sour
The woman became a monster
And everyone I knew had become a stranger
But the room went black and my luck was spent
The floor opened up, down I went
Does it hurt?
Oh, it really doesn't matter
Does it burn?
Oh, no
I don't feel a thing
Does it sting?
Oh, yeah, it really doesn't matter
Does it hurt?
Oh, I don't give a damn
When I find myself falling and I hit the bottom,
It only makes me laugh
It only makes me laugh
When I go down the hole and I hit the bottom
It only makes me laugh
It only makes me laugh
It only makes me laugh
Coming right back
Coming right back
'Cause you can't keep me down
Can't keep me down
Oh, in the ground
Does it hurt?
Oh, it really doesn't matter
Does it burn?
Oh, I don't feel a thing
I don't mind just a little pain
Wooh, oh yeah
Whoa...
Remembering when I was a young man
How everything seemed to turn against me
I didn't know a soul, it was an alien place
The sun was covered by a dark cloud
And though I tried, I couldn't find a way to escape
The only way to go was straight down
Does it hurt?
Oh, it really doesn't matter
Does it burn?
Oh, no
I don't feel a thing
Does it sting?
Oh, yeah, it really doesn't matter
Does it hurt?
Oh, I don't give a damn
When I find myself falling and I hit the bottom
It only makes me laugh
It only makes me laugh
When I go down the hole and I hit the bottom
It only makes me laugh
It only makes me laugh
It only makes me laugh
It only makes me laugh
I don't know why I feel this way
I don't know if it's right or wrong to laugh at misfortune
Darkness can never last too long--
When you laugh in his face
Ooh, ooh, yeah
When you laugh in his face
Wooh!
I don't know why I feel this way
I don't know if it's right or wrong to laugh at misfortune
Darkness can never last too long--
When you laugh in his face
I don't know if it's right or wrong to laugh at misfortune
Darkness can never last too long
Every time I think I'm falling
And there's nobody around to hold me up
And it seems like the world has come to an end
I look for miles but not a face is friendly
But then suddenly a hole opens up in the ground
The bottom of the hole is a raging fire
I try to jump over but there's no way
The next thing I know, I'm going down
Does it hurt?
Oh, it really doesn't matter
Does it burn?
Oh, no
Oh, I don't feel a thing
Does it sting?
Oh, yeah, it really doesn't matter
Does it hurt?
Oh, I don't give a damn
When I find myself falling and I hit the bottom
It only makes me laugh
It only makes me laugh
When I go down the hole and I hit the bottom--
The last time that I fell in love
The love was milk and honey but the milk turned sour
The woman became a monster
And everyone I knew had become a stranger
But the room went black and my luck was spent
The floor opened up, down I went
Does it hurt?
Oh, it really doesn't matter
Does it burn?
Oh, no
I don't feel a thing
Does it sting?
Oh, yeah, it really doesn't matter
Does it hurt?
Oh, I don't give a damn
When I find myself falling and I hit the bottom,
It only makes me laugh
It only makes me laugh
When I go down the hole and I hit the bottom
It only makes me laugh
It only makes me laugh
It only makes me laugh
Coming right back
Coming right back
'Cause you can't keep me down
Can't keep me down
Oh, in the ground
Does it hurt?
Oh, it really doesn't matter
Does it burn?
Oh, I don't feel a thing
I don't mind just a little pain
Wooh, oh yeah
Whoa...
Remembering when I was a young man
How everything seemed to turn against me
I didn't know a soul, it was an alien place
The sun was covered by a dark cloud
And though I tried, I couldn't find a way to escape
The only way to go was straight down
Does it hurt?
Oh, it really doesn't matter
Does it burn?
Oh, no
I don't feel a thing
Does it sting?
Oh, yeah, it really doesn't matter
Does it hurt?
Oh, I don't give a damn
When I find myself falling and I hit the bottom
It only makes me laugh
It only makes me laugh
When I go down the hole and I hit the bottom
It only makes me laugh
It only makes me laugh
It only makes me laugh
It only makes me laugh
I don't know why I feel this way
I don't know if it's right or wrong to laugh at misfortune
Darkness can never last too long--
When you laugh in his face
Ooh, ooh, yeah
When you laugh in his face
Wooh!
I don't know why I feel this way
I don't know if it's right or wrong to laugh at misfortune
Darkness can never last too long--
When you laugh in his face
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Little Feat
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Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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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.
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"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."
When We Were Young
Blink-182
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
Alternately, he could be putting a brave face on his situation in order to convince everybody else that he's "fine".