"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.
It's no secret, it's no secret
It's no secret, it's no secret
It's no secret, it's no secret
It's no secret, it's no secret
When I 1st met you, how you changed my life that day
But with each tomorrow you just seem 2 drift away
Then I discovered that you were cheating
you were cheating on me
But I was the last 2 know
Our love was a lie
And it's no secret, it's no secret
How you hurt me inside
And it's no secret because you told everybody
didn't I really love you, you know I gave you all my heart
When I put my arms around you I never thought we'd ever part
Then I discovered, I guess you couldn't love me
Like you said you loved me, oh no
Why was I the last to know
Our love was a lie
And it's no secret, it's no secret
How you hurt me inside
And it's no secret because you told everybody
All of my life I was looking for someone just like you
you shattered my dreams, tore me apart, what can I do?
But I was the last to know
Our love was a lie
And it's no secret, it's no secret
How you hurt me inside
And it's no secret because you told everybody
It's no secret, it's no secret
It's no secret, it's no secret
It's no secret, it's no secret
It's no secret, it's no secret
It's no secret, it's no secret
When I 1st met you, how you changed my life that day
But with each tomorrow you just seem 2 drift away
Then I discovered that you were cheating
you were cheating on me
But I was the last 2 know
Our love was a lie
And it's no secret, it's no secret
How you hurt me inside
And it's no secret because you told everybody
didn't I really love you, you know I gave you all my heart
When I put my arms around you I never thought we'd ever part
Then I discovered, I guess you couldn't love me
Like you said you loved me, oh no
Why was I the last to know
Our love was a lie
And it's no secret, it's no secret
How you hurt me inside
And it's no secret because you told everybody
All of my life I was looking for someone just like you
you shattered my dreams, tore me apart, what can I do?
But I was the last to know
Our love was a lie
And it's no secret, it's no secret
How you hurt me inside
And it's no secret because you told everybody
It's no secret, it's no secret
It's no secret, it's no secret
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
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.