"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.
She grew up with the children of the stars
In the Hollywood hills and the boulevard
Her parents threw big parties, everyone was there
They hung out with folks like
Dennis Hopper and Bob Seeger and Sonny and Cher
She feels safe now, in this bar on Fairfax
And from the stage I can tell that
She can't let go and she can't relax
And just before she hangs her head to cry
I sing to her a lullaby
I sing, everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Rockabye
She still lives with her mom outside the city
Down that street about a half a mile
And all her friends tell her
She's so pretty
But she'd be a whole lot prettier
If she smiled once in a while
'Cause even her smile looks like a frown
She's seen her share of devils in this angel town
But, everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye (dry your tired eyes)
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Rockabye
Ooh, ooh, ahh
I told her I ain't so sure about this place
It's hard to play a gig in this town and keep a straight face
Seems like everybody's got a plan
It's kind of like Nashville with a tan
But Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Everything's gonna be all right (I'll be your every)
Rockabye, rockabye (dry your tired eyes)
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Everything's gonna be all right (I'll be your every)
Rockabye, rockabye (dry your tired eyes)
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye, rockabye, bye, bye (ahh)
Bye, bye
In the Hollywood hills and the boulevard
Her parents threw big parties, everyone was there
They hung out with folks like
Dennis Hopper and Bob Seeger and Sonny and Cher
She feels safe now, in this bar on Fairfax
And from the stage I can tell that
She can't let go and she can't relax
And just before she hangs her head to cry
I sing to her a lullaby
I sing, everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Rockabye
She still lives with her mom outside the city
Down that street about a half a mile
And all her friends tell her
She's so pretty
But she'd be a whole lot prettier
If she smiled once in a while
'Cause even her smile looks like a frown
She's seen her share of devils in this angel town
But, everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye (dry your tired eyes)
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Rockabye
Ooh, ooh, ahh
I told her I ain't so sure about this place
It's hard to play a gig in this town and keep a straight face
Seems like everybody's got a plan
It's kind of like Nashville with a tan
But Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Everything's gonna be all right (I'll be your every)
Rockabye, rockabye (dry your tired eyes)
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Everything's gonna be all right (I'll be your every)
Rockabye, rockabye (dry your tired eyes)
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye, rockabye, bye, bye (ahh)
Bye, bye
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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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,
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
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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.
I like this song a lot but I don't get that nashville part either. I'm from Belgium, maybe that's why... ;-)