"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.
Mad in a way but I don't say
It's what you're used to
I got the words but can't convey
I know you'll turn it all around
It's the rhythm that you go through
Get it back and you're not obliged to say
Not intact but you're better off anyway
Somehow it's never up to me
What if I would say
Simple words I can't relate
I don't place upon your view
It's the rhythm that you go through
I know what I want
You just take me through the motions
I know what I want
And that's more than you can say
Since you found me out, since you found me out
Since you found me out, since you found me out
Your story still remains
It's so unlike you, still you stay the same
But all the while you're counting in your day to come
But nothing ever told you
You would say that it's only for a day
Yesterday's last week tomorrow's on it's way
I'm falling faster all the time
What if I would say
Simple words I can't relate
What came easy's now too late
And it was always standing right in front of me
'Cause I know what I want
You just take me through the motions
I know what I want
And that's more than you can say
All the time you thought worth saving
Still end up with memories fading
After all that you wouldn't do
It makes no sense
It's the rhythm that you go through
I know what I want
You just take me through the motions
I know what I want
And that's more than you can say
I know what I want
You take me through the motions
I know what I want
And that's more than you can say
Since you found me out, since you found me out
Since you found me out, since you found me out
It's what you're used to
I got the words but can't convey
I know you'll turn it all around
It's the rhythm that you go through
Get it back and you're not obliged to say
Not intact but you're better off anyway
Somehow it's never up to me
What if I would say
Simple words I can't relate
I don't place upon your view
It's the rhythm that you go through
I know what I want
You just take me through the motions
I know what I want
And that's more than you can say
Since you found me out, since you found me out
Since you found me out, since you found me out
Your story still remains
It's so unlike you, still you stay the same
But all the while you're counting in your day to come
But nothing ever told you
You would say that it's only for a day
Yesterday's last week tomorrow's on it's way
I'm falling faster all the time
What if I would say
Simple words I can't relate
What came easy's now too late
And it was always standing right in front of me
'Cause I know what I want
You just take me through the motions
I know what I want
And that's more than you can say
All the time you thought worth saving
Still end up with memories fading
After all that you wouldn't do
It makes no sense
It's the rhythm that you go through
I know what I want
You just take me through the motions
I know what I want
And that's more than you can say
I know what I want
You take me through the motions
I know what I want
And that's more than you can say
Since you found me out, since you found me out
Since you found me out, since you found me out
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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"
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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/
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.
yeah it's my fave sum 41 song also.i love the lyrics.