"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.
"Kill her. That's all you have to do"
"Kill Mary?"
"She's a risk, and get the priest as well"
Ten P.M., I feel the rain coming down
My face feels the wet, my mind the storm
Flashing lights as people race to find shelter from the pour
Moving silent, through the streets, they're mine, they're mine
Midnight, she sings praises in the Hall
To saintly faces hallowed be their names she can't recall
Sister Mary, virgin Mary, silent with her sin
("What are you doing out in the rain?")
She feels me, I can taste her breath when she speaks
("I've been waiting for you, come in")
Mary, Mary just a whore for the underground
(They made you pay in guilt for your salvation)
Thought you had them fooled? Now they've sent me for you
You know too much for your own good
Don't offer me faith, I've got all I need here
(My faith is growing, growing tight against the seam)
What we need is trust, to keep us both alive
Help us make it through the night
I've no more want of any faith
Binds my arm and feed my mind
The only peace I've ever known
I'll close my eyes and you shoot
No Mary, listen, you've got to pull your strength
(From my lips, I pray I feed you well)
Your precious cross is gone, it made me wait so long
For what you gave to everyone
The priest is cold and dead on his knees he fed
(From my barrel of death, he turned)
The Holy water red, as he died he said "thank you"
I just watched him bleed
I feel the flow, the blessed stain
Sweating hands like fire, and flames
Burn my thighs, spread in sacrificial right
The hallowed altar burns my flesh once more tonight
Mary, my lady of pain
Always alone
Blind you search for the truth
I see myself in you, parallel lives
Winding at light-speed through time
No time to rest yet
We've got to stop his game
(Before madness has the final laugh)
Too much bloodshed
We're being used and fed
Like rats in experiments
There's no final outcome here
Only pain and fear
(It's followed us both all our lives)
There's one thing left to see
Will it be him or me?
There's one more candle left to light
Don't turn your back on my disgrace
The blood of Christ can't heal my wounds, so deep
The sins of man are all I taste
Can't spit the memory from my mind
I can't cry anymore
Mary, my lady of pain, always alone
Blind you search for the truth
I see myself in you, parallel lives
Winding at light-speed through time, you're mine
"Kill Mary?"
"She's a risk, and get the priest as well"
Ten P.M., I feel the rain coming down
My face feels the wet, my mind the storm
Flashing lights as people race to find shelter from the pour
Moving silent, through the streets, they're mine, they're mine
Midnight, she sings praises in the Hall
To saintly faces hallowed be their names she can't recall
Sister Mary, virgin Mary, silent with her sin
("What are you doing out in the rain?")
She feels me, I can taste her breath when she speaks
("I've been waiting for you, come in")
Mary, Mary just a whore for the underground
(They made you pay in guilt for your salvation)
Thought you had them fooled? Now they've sent me for you
You know too much for your own good
Don't offer me faith, I've got all I need here
(My faith is growing, growing tight against the seam)
What we need is trust, to keep us both alive
Help us make it through the night
I've no more want of any faith
Binds my arm and feed my mind
The only peace I've ever known
I'll close my eyes and you shoot
No Mary, listen, you've got to pull your strength
(From my lips, I pray I feed you well)
Your precious cross is gone, it made me wait so long
For what you gave to everyone
The priest is cold and dead on his knees he fed
(From my barrel of death, he turned)
The Holy water red, as he died he said "thank you"
I just watched him bleed
I feel the flow, the blessed stain
Sweating hands like fire, and flames
Burn my thighs, spread in sacrificial right
The hallowed altar burns my flesh once more tonight
Mary, my lady of pain
Always alone
Blind you search for the truth
I see myself in you, parallel lives
Winding at light-speed through time
No time to rest yet
We've got to stop his game
(Before madness has the final laugh)
Too much bloodshed
We're being used and fed
Like rats in experiments
There's no final outcome here
Only pain and fear
(It's followed us both all our lives)
There's one thing left to see
Will it be him or me?
There's one more candle left to light
Don't turn your back on my disgrace
The blood of Christ can't heal my wounds, so deep
The sins of man are all I taste
Can't spit the memory from my mind
I can't cry anymore
Mary, my lady of pain, always alone
Blind you search for the truth
I see myself in you, parallel lives
Winding at light-speed through time, you're mine
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
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
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.
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."
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
I always thought that suicide made the most sense, either way I think Nikky believes that she commited suicide. Wether she actually did or not I guess we don't know.
Great song though, some really complex overdubs and stuff going on with the vocals, must have taken forever to record and get it perfect. This is like Quensryche's "Bohemian Rhapsody."