"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.
Was happiness a fad
Or was it in the lost and found again behind the issues?
It might not be so bad
We're all addicted to our tragedy
I guess it's what it had to be
With nothing on my back
It's still enough to bring me down
My mind's about to crack
'Cause what I thought could not be found
Matter of in fact
It's harder still when you're around
With nothing on my back
I can't help but drown
I might as well belong to both of you
And the mess you always seem to drag me through
That night, forever always haunting me
But I guess it is what it's supposed to be
But spare your thoughts of sympathy
With nothing on my back
It's still enough to bring me down
My mind's about to crack
'Cause what I thought could not be found
Matter of in fact
It's harder still when you're around
With nothing on my back
I can't help but drown
With nothing on my back
It's still enough to bring me down
My mind's about to crack
'Cause what I thought could not be found
With nothing on my back
It's still enough to bring me down
My mind's about to crack
'Cause what I thought could not be found
With nothing on my back
It's still enough to bring me down
My mind's about to crack
'Cause what I thought could not be found
With nothing on my back
It's still enough to bring me down
My mind's about to crack
'Cause what I thought could not be found
With nothing on my back
It's still enough to bring me down
My mind's about to crack
'Cause what I thought could not be found
Matter of in fact
It's harder still when you're around
With nothing on my back
I can't help but drown
Or was it in the lost and found again behind the issues?
It might not be so bad
We're all addicted to our tragedy
I guess it's what it had to be
With nothing on my back
It's still enough to bring me down
My mind's about to crack
'Cause what I thought could not be found
Matter of in fact
It's harder still when you're around
With nothing on my back
I can't help but drown
I might as well belong to both of you
And the mess you always seem to drag me through
That night, forever always haunting me
But I guess it is what it's supposed to be
But spare your thoughts of sympathy
With nothing on my back
It's still enough to bring me down
My mind's about to crack
'Cause what I thought could not be found
Matter of in fact
It's harder still when you're around
With nothing on my back
I can't help but drown
With nothing on my back
It's still enough to bring me down
My mind's about to crack
'Cause what I thought could not be found
With nothing on my back
It's still enough to bring me down
My mind's about to crack
'Cause what I thought could not be found
With nothing on my back
It's still enough to bring me down
My mind's about to crack
'Cause what I thought could not be found
With nothing on my back
It's still enough to bring me down
My mind's about to crack
'Cause what I thought could not be found
With nothing on my back
It's still enough to bring me down
My mind's about to crack
'Cause what I thought could not be found
Matter of in fact
It's harder still when you're around
With nothing on my back
I can't help but drown
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Holiday
Bee Gees
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
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.
The Lyrics are ok but
Its go the best guitarr..