"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.
I heard you crying loud, all the way across town
'Cause you been searching for that someone
And it's me out on the prowl
As you sit around feeling sorry for yourself
Well, don't get lonely now, and dry your whining eyes
I'm just roaming for the moment
Sleazin' my back yard so don't get
So uptight you been thinking about ditching me
No time to search the world around
'Cause you know where I'll be found
When I come around
Well, I heard it all before, so don't knock down my door
I'm a loser and a user so I don't need no accuser
To try and slag me down because I know you're right
So go do what you like, make sure you do it wise
You may find out that your self-doubt means nothing
Was ever there
You can't go forcing something if it's just not right
No time to search the world around
'Cause you know where I'll be found
When I come around
No time to search the world around
'Cause you know where I'll be found
When I come around
When I come around
When I come around
When I come around
'Cause you been searching for that someone
And it's me out on the prowl
As you sit around feeling sorry for yourself
Well, don't get lonely now, and dry your whining eyes
I'm just roaming for the moment
Sleazin' my back yard so don't get
So uptight you been thinking about ditching me
No time to search the world around
'Cause you know where I'll be found
When I come around
Well, I heard it all before, so don't knock down my door
I'm a loser and a user so I don't need no accuser
To try and slag me down because I know you're right
So go do what you like, make sure you do it wise
You may find out that your self-doubt means nothing
Was ever there
You can't go forcing something if it's just not right
No time to search the world around
'Cause you know where I'll be found
When I come around
No time to search the world around
'Cause you know where I'll be found
When I come around
When I come around
When I come around
When I come around
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
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.
This is just not green day's best song, it's the best song in the whole damn world. A better song never is gonna done, probably.