"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.
We ain't going to the party
We ain't going to the game
We ain't going to the disco
Ain't gonna cruise down Main
We're stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
On a Friday night
Drivin' in the mountains
Winding 'round and 'round
Rummage through your mailboxes
Take your mail back to town
And we got license plates, wedding gifts, tax returns
Checks to politicians from real estate firms
Money, bills and cancelled checks
Pretty funny pictures of your kids
We're gonna steal your mail
On a Friday night
We're gonna steal your mail
By the pale moonlight
We got grocery sackful after grocery sackful
After grocery sackful after grocery sackful
After grocery sackful after grocery sackful
Of the private lives of you
People say that we're crazy
We're sick and all alone
But when we read your letters
We're rolling on the floor
And we got license plates, wedding gifts, tax returns
Checks to politicians from real estate firms
Money, bills and cancelled checks
We cut relationships with your friends
We're gonna steal your mail
On a Friday night
We're gonna steal your mail
By the pale moonlight
We better not get caught
We'll be dumped in institutions
Where we'll be drugged and shocked
Till we come out born-again Christians
Stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
On a Friday night, n-n-n-night
We ain't going to the game
We ain't going to the disco
Ain't gonna cruise down Main
We're stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
On a Friday night
Drivin' in the mountains
Winding 'round and 'round
Rummage through your mailboxes
Take your mail back to town
And we got license plates, wedding gifts, tax returns
Checks to politicians from real estate firms
Money, bills and cancelled checks
Pretty funny pictures of your kids
We're gonna steal your mail
On a Friday night
We're gonna steal your mail
By the pale moonlight
We got grocery sackful after grocery sackful
After grocery sackful after grocery sackful
After grocery sackful after grocery sackful
Of the private lives of you
People say that we're crazy
We're sick and all alone
But when we read your letters
We're rolling on the floor
And we got license plates, wedding gifts, tax returns
Checks to politicians from real estate firms
Money, bills and cancelled checks
We cut relationships with your friends
We're gonna steal your mail
On a Friday night
We're gonna steal your mail
By the pale moonlight
We better not get caught
We'll be dumped in institutions
Where we'll be drugged and shocked
Till we come out born-again Christians
Stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
On a Friday night, n-n-n-night
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
...No, stealing people's mail does not creat total anarchy. It just annoys people; how is pissing people off a stroke of genius? And you'd not really be 'undermining the institute' by stealing mail; these are normal people that you're stealing from, and the government isn't hurt. Dead Kennedys' satire is one of the things I really like about them.