"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.
What are they doing here?
Something so familiar to my ears
Well they move like ancient science fiction on
The vacuum screen
And they sing of love and loneliness and
Different shades of green
Drownin in a lake of tears
Seems like they've been doing it for years
Ringing in my ears
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Well we listen on in silence, memorizing line and verse
Though the poetry is awful and the imagery is worse
Doesen't it seem absurd?
Little children learning every single word
And they mimic words and phrases of a
Hundred years ago
And observe a moments silence for the guy who
Wrote Hey Joe
Matthew said it best at Janes
Though the maidens gone, her innocence remains
We sing on in chains
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Well I'm laughing at the waitress and they're
Starving in the street
And they're charging more for wonder and
They're burning fields of wheat
Am I crazy, was it really only 20 years ago?
Or more or less, I'm not so sure
Raised on Classic Rock
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Something so familiar to my ears
Well they move like ancient science fiction on
The vacuum screen
And they sing of love and loneliness and
Different shades of green
Drownin in a lake of tears
Seems like they've been doing it for years
Ringing in my ears
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Well we listen on in silence, memorizing line and verse
Though the poetry is awful and the imagery is worse
Doesen't it seem absurd?
Little children learning every single word
And they mimic words and phrases of a
Hundred years ago
And observe a moments silence for the guy who
Wrote Hey Joe
Matthew said it best at Janes
Though the maidens gone, her innocence remains
We sing on in chains
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Well I'm laughing at the waitress and they're
Starving in the street
And they're charging more for wonder and
They're burning fields of wheat
Am I crazy, was it really only 20 years ago?
Or more or less, I'm not so sure
Raised on Classic Rock
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
Bob ba da bop ba da ba da
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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.
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
The missing opening lines are...
"Well, I get off work at midnight/like I did it yesterday and I listen to the signal that the ancient strangers play."
This song is clearly about how rock music had been turned into a commodity by the late 70s/ early 80s. By that time, less-and-less new music was being played and you started hearing the same thirty "classic" songs played on radio for years and years on end.