"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 cannot leave here, I cannot stay
Forever haunted, more than afraid
Asphyxiate on words I would say
I'm drawn to a blackened sky
As I turn blue
There are no flowers
No, not this time
There will be no angels
Gracing the lines
Just these stark words I find
I'd show a smile
But I'm too weak
I'd share with you
Could I only speak
Just how much this hurts me
I cannot stay here, I cannot leave
Just like all I loved
I'm make believe
Imagined heart, I disappear
Seems no one will appear here
And make me real
There are no flowers
No, not this time
There'll be no angels
Gracing the lines
Just these stark words I find
I'd show a smile
But I'm too weak
I'd share with you
Could I only speak
Just how much this hurts me
I'd tell you how it haunts me
I'd tell you how it haunts me
Cuts through my day
And sinks into my dreams
I'd tell you how it haunts me
Cuts through my day
And sinks into my dreams
You don't care that it haunts me
There are no flowers
No, not this time
There'll be no angels
Gracing the lines
Just these stark words I find
I'd show a smile
But I'm too weak
I'd share with you
Could I only speak
Just how much this hurts me
Just how much this hurts me
Just how much you...
Forever haunted, more than afraid
Asphyxiate on words I would say
I'm drawn to a blackened sky
As I turn blue
There are no flowers
No, not this time
There will be no angels
Gracing the lines
Just these stark words I find
I'd show a smile
But I'm too weak
I'd share with you
Could I only speak
Just how much this hurts me
I cannot stay here, I cannot leave
Just like all I loved
I'm make believe
Imagined heart, I disappear
Seems no one will appear here
And make me real
There are no flowers
No, not this time
There'll be no angels
Gracing the lines
Just these stark words I find
I'd show a smile
But I'm too weak
I'd share with you
Could I only speak
Just how much this hurts me
I'd tell you how it haunts me
I'd tell you how it haunts me
Cuts through my day
And sinks into my dreams
I'd tell you how it haunts me
Cuts through my day
And sinks into my dreams
You don't care that it haunts me
There are no flowers
No, not this time
There'll be no angels
Gracing the lines
Just these stark words I find
I'd show a smile
But I'm too weak
I'd share with you
Could I only speak
Just how much this hurts me
Just how much this hurts me
Just how much you...
Lyrics submitted by ruben
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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.
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.
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.
To me this song is about the inability to express oneself. Sometimes when one feels pain internally, they struggle to convey to others and these feelings are kept within them. "Asphyxiate on words I would say " suggests the inablity to form the right words to say, as if words are choked on as he tries to say them.
If this is what the song is about, then I believe that many have had the feeling before, of having so much pain trapped within our bodies, on the verge of breaking down, and when the oppertunity is there to tell someone of the pain, we are still unable to voice it.
sometimes you're staring at the source of your pain in the face, yet you cannot get yourself to put into words the anger or pain that you want to direct at it.
i think that feeling is what this song is about.
@Marcyy Exactly. To me it is about depersonalization and dehumanization due to abuse from some sort of social determinism. Like being stripped of your personality by someone that has NPD. Coming to terms with the fact that you can never fix NPD so the words that mean so much to you and are so deep you are not able to share with someone with NPD because the NPD is just going to use the words against you.