"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.
There's a place where everyone can be happy
It's the most beautiful place in the whole fucking world
It's made of candy canes and planes and bright red choo choo trains
And the meanest little boys, the most innocent little girls
And, you know, I wish that I could go there
It's a road that I have not found
And I wish you the best of luck, dear
So drop a card or letter to my side of town
'Cause there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend
But baby, I'm amazed at the hate that you can send
And You!
painted my entire world
But I don't have the turpentine to clean what you have soiled
And I won't forget it
There's a place where everyone can be right
Even though you remain determined to be opposed
Admittance requires no qualifications
It's where everyone has been and where everybody goes
So please try not to be impatient
For we all hate standing in line
And when the farm is good and bought, you'll be there without a thought
And eternity, my friend, is a long fucking time
As there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend
But baby, I'm amazed at the hate that you can send
And You!
Painted my entire world
But I don't have the turpentine to clean what you have soiled
And I won't forget it
It's the most beautiful place in the whole fucking world
It's made of candy canes and planes and bright red choo choo trains
And the meanest little boys, the most innocent little girls
And, you know, I wish that I could go there
It's a road that I have not found
And I wish you the best of luck, dear
So drop a card or letter to my side of town
'Cause there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend
But baby, I'm amazed at the hate that you can send
And You!
painted my entire world
But I don't have the turpentine to clean what you have soiled
And I won't forget it
There's a place where everyone can be right
Even though you remain determined to be opposed
Admittance requires no qualifications
It's where everyone has been and where everybody goes
So please try not to be impatient
For we all hate standing in line
And when the farm is good and bought, you'll be there without a thought
And eternity, my friend, is a long fucking time
As there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend
But baby, I'm amazed at the hate that you can send
And You!
Painted my entire world
But I don't have the turpentine to clean what you have soiled
And I won't forget it
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
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
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.
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."
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,
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
marskelletor has it - this song is about the afterlife.
There's a place where everyone can be happy. It's the most beautiful place in the whole fucking world. It's made of candy canes and planes and bright red choo-choo trains, And the meanest little boys and the most innocent little girls, -idealises heaven as a perfection of this world, a playground for happy children
And you know I wish that I could got there. It's a road that I have not found. -greg wishes he could also believe this comforting fairytale
And I wish you the best of luck, dear. Drop a card or letter to my side of town. -you're free to pursue that fairytale but don't stop being my friend cause i don't follow you to those dreams, to the (religious) side of town
Because there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend, But baby I'm amazed at the hate that you can send and
But baby I'm amazed at the hate that you can send and ... painted my entire world. But I... don't have the turpentine to clean what you have soiled.
There's a place where everyone can be right, Even though you remain determined to be opposed.
Admittance requires no qualifications: It's where everyone has been and where everybody goes.
So please try not to be impatient, For we all hate standing in line.
And when the farm is good and bought, you'll be there without a thought,
And eternity, my friend, is a long fucking time.
And I won't forget it
I would have written my own interpretation down, but I think you did it for me! Ditto everything here.
To me this song has dual meaning depending on the way you interpret the lyrics.
Firstly I see this as a song about heaven. The first verse at first talks about the kind of cliched visions of heaven we have, it being a perfect place with "candy canes and planes and bright red choo choo trains", this line suggests its a nice place. Then in the 2nd part of the verse it talks about how he doesn't share this vision. The 2nd verse talk about how everyone seems to be in such a rush to try and get there "please try not to be impatient" and ends with the line that always haunts me "eternity my friend is a long fucking time" which to me means that, well try and imagine how long eternity is...you wouldn't want to spend an eternity anywhere, obviously not in hell but would you even want to spend it in heaven? I'd rather be alive in a shitty world than alive in a boring heaven.
I also see the song as a kind of reverse love song, which im pretty sure Brett has also said in an interview somewhere. It can be interpreted this way if you think of the song talking about a relationship instead of heaven, and the chorus makes more sense this way aswell.
Im not sure but i think this song is about religious propaganda, or even just government propaganda, but whatever it is its about someone "painting" his world with bullshit, and now its gonnna take a whole lotta work to get rid of it.
i think this song is about him finding love and then being betrayed; "But baby I'm amazed at the hate that you can send".. "you painted my entire world but i dont have the turpentine to clean what you have soiled"
i think this is song is relevant to 'heaven'- how perfect, happy they make it sound like. <br /> <br /> 'drop a card or letter to my side of town' <br /> <br /> 'Admittance requires no qualifications:<br /> It's where everyone has been and where everybody goes'<br /> <br /> 'And eternity, my friend, is a long fucking time'- heaven is suppsed to be eternal.<br /> <br /> i dont know i might be wrong. but its open to self interpretation and im happy with mine :)<br />
Also, Bad Religion quotes The Beatles' song "We Can Work It Out" (The Beatles' lyric: "Life is very short, and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend. I have always thought that its a crime, so I will ask you once again")
this song is insane! i think its about all the lies the government tells you to get your money. the more lies, the harder it is to keep straight = painted my entire world, but i don't have the turpentine to clean what you have soiled.
YES I'M A CONSPIRACY THEORIST
OH GOD, THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH OF, US, CONSPIRACY THEORISTS
it seems a lot simpler to me. seems like he's just amazed at how much hate a person can send when they're only going to die in the end.
They DO write about girls, just not frequently.
Anesthesia? 1000 Memories?
"You were the one, you were my everything", however, is not your typical relationship song lyrics. Writing songs about girls is not inherently evil, in and of itself...its boy bands and Avril Lavene that make it that way. Bad Religion sings about meaningful relationships...not skater boys or thong-thong-thong-thong-thongs.
Athiest does not mean loveless.
I think this song is mocking the feelings in this country that we and our society are perfect. I think Greg adresses this in the very first few lines of the song wherein hes basically saying that the rich veiw the society as perfect and he compares it to a childlike dreamland. The part where hes talking about mean boys and innocent girls i think he is mocking the gender roles in our society that boys are supposed to mischevous and violent but girls are meant to be proper and innocent. The part after that when hes talking about a letter i think hes saying that your world may be ideal but mine is not ("my side of town"). Then I think hes saying that the people whos lives are perfect (the rich and powerful) seem to be the ones who are full of hate and go out of the way to make others suffer. Basically thats what I think this song is about but like most Bad Religion songs this is very complex and I could be (and probably am) wrong.
I've loved Bad Religion since high school, but no matter what, i think of playing Tony Hawk in college and destroying everyone on my floor on the Philly level, haha. Great song, made even greater by the game. Hell when I saw BR 2 years ago they even said "Here's the Tony Hawk song!"
DazedZorro, your right Athiest doesnt mea loveless... soulless maybe (just kidding, i may one day become an athiest)
Seriously though I dont think this is a very thoughtful BR song, may just be beyond my mental capacity but based on the rest of your interpretations i dont think thats the case. It is however a decent song for BR which would be a great song by any other band