"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.
A friend brought me flowers, she said they were lilacs
But I've never been good with plants
Her next presentation, a new dictionary
She'd circled the word "romance"
So enthusiastic, a little bit drastic
I shaved her name in my head
As she beheld it, she said I misspelled it
Need more be said?
These apples are delicious
"As a matter of fact they are," she said
Can all this fruit be free?
She wrote me a letter as big as a phone book
I've never been big on mail
I sent her a postcard from somewhere near Lethbridge
And wondered if it still went by rail
I've never been frightened of being enlightened
But some things can go too far
Though sometimes I stammer and mix up my grammar
You get what my meanings are
These apples are delicious
"As a matter of fact they are," she said
Can all this fruit be free?
I'm not trying to sing a love song, I'm trying to sing in tune
I know I am sometimes headstrong
Falling in love, catching fire, I want to be consumed
Wondering will I ever tire? Will I ever tire?
Will I ever tire?
These apples are delicious
"As a matter of fact they are," she said
Can all this fruit be free?
But I've never been good with plants
Her next presentation, a new dictionary
She'd circled the word "romance"
So enthusiastic, a little bit drastic
I shaved her name in my head
As she beheld it, she said I misspelled it
Need more be said?
These apples are delicious
"As a matter of fact they are," she said
Can all this fruit be free?
She wrote me a letter as big as a phone book
I've never been big on mail
I sent her a postcard from somewhere near Lethbridge
And wondered if it still went by rail
I've never been frightened of being enlightened
But some things can go too far
Though sometimes I stammer and mix up my grammar
You get what my meanings are
These apples are delicious
"As a matter of fact they are," she said
Can all this fruit be free?
I'm not trying to sing a love song, I'm trying to sing in tune
I know I am sometimes headstrong
Falling in love, catching fire, I want to be consumed
Wondering will I ever tire? Will I ever tire?
Will I ever tire?
These apples are delicious
"As a matter of fact they are," she said
Can all this fruit be free?
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
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.
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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.
I also found a reply by Barenaked Ladies' own Ed Robertson to this posting:
Hi there, I think your name is andrew but I may have that wrong. I want to thank you for your in depth interpretation of "these apples". I really enjoyed reading it. It was cool for me to to read because most of what you said was EXACTLY what I meant to say in the song, although I'm sure my 1st year english prof would argue that even the author does not hold the correct interpretation of his or her work.
So thanx very much for enjoying what I do enough to put that much time into it. After all the care and craftsmanship that goes into writing a song it's very nice to hear something other than " I like that song" or worse "I don't".
Anyway, this letter isn't very well thought out. I just wanted to say thanx and let you know from the horse's mouth as it were, just how right you are.
barenaked wishes ed robertson