"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.
My head, it hurts, each day it's getting worse
My looks and smile have now become my curse
Tight lips, red skirt, the never ending street
Big car, little man, my lover for a fee
So if you see me, will you just drive on by?
Or will I catch the twinkle inside your eye?
And if you want me, well, I guess I want you
Oh, pretty baby, how could you?
Standing in the rain
Milk carton mug shot, baby
Missing since 1983
Standing in the rain
Twenty years of dirty needles
Raindrops running through my veins
My head, it hurts, each day it's getting worse
No sun, my room has now become my hearse
Cold sores, I'm beat, got bruises on my feet
My pride, these men have taken it from me
So if you see me, will you just drive on by?
Or will I catch the twinkle inside your eye?
And if you want me, well, I guess I want you
Oh, pretty baby, how could you?
Standing in the rain
Milk carton mug shot, baby
Missing since 1983
Standing in the rain
Twenty years of dirty needles
Raindrops running through my veins
Standing in the rain
Milk carton mug shot, baby
Missing since 1983
Standing in the rain
Twenty years of dirty needles
Raindrops running through my veins
So if you see me, will you just drive on by?
Or will I catch the twinkle inside your eye?
And if you want me, well, I guess I want you
Oh, pretty baby, how could you?
Standing in the rain
Standing in the rain
Standing in the rain
Milk carton mug shot, baby
Mother, I have lost my way
Standing in the rain
Milk carton mug shot, baby
Missing since 1983
Standing in the rain
Twenty years of dirty needles
Raindrops running through my veins
Standing in the rain
Mother, I have lost my way
Standing in the rain
Mother, I have lost my way
My looks and smile have now become my curse
Tight lips, red skirt, the never ending street
Big car, little man, my lover for a fee
So if you see me, will you just drive on by?
Or will I catch the twinkle inside your eye?
And if you want me, well, I guess I want you
Oh, pretty baby, how could you?
Standing in the rain
Milk carton mug shot, baby
Missing since 1983
Standing in the rain
Twenty years of dirty needles
Raindrops running through my veins
My head, it hurts, each day it's getting worse
No sun, my room has now become my hearse
Cold sores, I'm beat, got bruises on my feet
My pride, these men have taken it from me
So if you see me, will you just drive on by?
Or will I catch the twinkle inside your eye?
And if you want me, well, I guess I want you
Oh, pretty baby, how could you?
Standing in the rain
Milk carton mug shot, baby
Missing since 1983
Standing in the rain
Twenty years of dirty needles
Raindrops running through my veins
Standing in the rain
Milk carton mug shot, baby
Missing since 1983
Standing in the rain
Twenty years of dirty needles
Raindrops running through my veins
So if you see me, will you just drive on by?
Or will I catch the twinkle inside your eye?
And if you want me, well, I guess I want you
Oh, pretty baby, how could you?
Standing in the rain
Standing in the rain
Standing in the rain
Milk carton mug shot, baby
Mother, I have lost my way
Standing in the rain
Milk carton mug shot, baby
Missing since 1983
Standing in the rain
Twenty years of dirty needles
Raindrops running through my veins
Standing in the rain
Mother, I have lost my way
Standing in the rain
Mother, I have lost my way
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
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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.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
I think that the whole song is from the prostitute's point of view, not just the second verse.