"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 memo to a higher office
Open letter to the powers that be
To a God, a King, a head of state
A captain of industry
To the movers and the shakers
Can't everybody see?
It ought to be second nature
I mean, the places where we live
Let's talk about this sensibly
We're not insensitive
I know progress has no patience
But something's got to give
I know you're different
You know I'm the same
We're both too busy
To be taking the blame
I'd like some changes
But you don't have the time
We can't go on thinking
It's a victimless crime
No one is blameless
But we're all without shame
We fight the fire
While we're feeding the flames
Folks have got to make choices
And choices got to have voices
Folks are basically decent
Conventional wisdom would say
Well, we read about
The exceptions
In the papers every day
It ought to be second nature
At least, that's what I feel
"Now I lay me down in Dreamland"
I know perfect's not for real
I thought we might get closer
But I'm ready to make a deal
Today is different
And tomorrow the same
It's hard to take the world
The way that it came
Too many rapids
Keep us sweeping along
Too many captains
Keep on steering us wrong
It's hard to take the heat
It's hard to lay blame
To fight the fire
While we're feeding the flames
Open letter to the powers that be
To a God, a King, a head of state
A captain of industry
To the movers and the shakers
Can't everybody see?
It ought to be second nature
I mean, the places where we live
Let's talk about this sensibly
We're not insensitive
I know progress has no patience
But something's got to give
I know you're different
You know I'm the same
We're both too busy
To be taking the blame
I'd like some changes
But you don't have the time
We can't go on thinking
It's a victimless crime
No one is blameless
But we're all without shame
We fight the fire
While we're feeding the flames
Folks have got to make choices
And choices got to have voices
Folks are basically decent
Conventional wisdom would say
Well, we read about
The exceptions
In the papers every day
It ought to be second nature
At least, that's what I feel
"Now I lay me down in Dreamland"
I know perfect's not for real
I thought we might get closer
But I'm ready to make a deal
Today is different
And tomorrow the same
It's hard to take the world
The way that it came
Too many rapids
Keep us sweeping along
Too many captains
Keep on steering us wrong
It's hard to take the heat
It's hard to lay blame
To fight the fire
While we're feeding the flames
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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,
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/
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.
this song is NOT about politics. maybe it brings up politicians as an example, but the overall point is not that those higher powers are the ones that are at fault.
Peart is saying that we, as people, don't know how to take responsibility and actually take action for our mistakes. We're all different, but we all have the same amount of responsibility for what's going wrong in our world. After all, this is where we live... we should probably appreciate our society as humans and make it as flawless as we can. we see the flaws and we acknowledge them, but we don't take actions ourselves. we let other people deal with it. we put things off and pretend things aren't happening. we blame others because it's the easy way out. we just keep riding the waves and think, "maybe soon these problems as a society will end," without actually doing anything. AND, while we think this way, we continue committing the problems and we stand up for change yet we don't actually change, ourselves!
i feel like Neil was just venting with this song, kinda like i was just venting, myself. I love how he's able to put such a difficult subject into lyrics so clearly.