"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.
African nightmare one-time Mormon
More men fall in Hullabaloo men
I slide to the nearest bar
Undermine chairman I went too far
Bent on a windfall rent a sony
Wonder how the dollar went down
Gotta get a word to Elizabeth's father
Hey no, he wished me well
Seemed like another day
I could fly into the eye of god on high
His burning eye will see me through
One of these days, one of these days
Gotta get a word through one of these days
Asanti habari habari habari
Asanti nabana nabana nabana
Getting in mood for a Mombassa night flight
Pushing my luck, gonna fly like a mad thing
Bare strip takeoff skimming over Rhino
Born in slumber less than peace
Struggle with a child whose screaming dreaming
Drowned by the props all steely sunshine
Sick of you, sick of me
Lust for the free life
Quashed and maimed
Like a valuable loved one
Left unnamed
Seemed like another day
I could fly into the eye of god on high
Seemed like another day
I could fly into the eye of god on high
Over the bushland over the trees
Wise like Orangutan that was me
His burning eye will see me through
One of these days, one of these days
Gotta get a word through one of these days
His burning eye will see me through
One of these days, one of these days
Gotta get a word through one of these days
Asanti habari habari habari
Asanti nabana nabana nabana
More men fall in Hullabaloo men
I slide to the nearest bar
Undermine chairman I went too far
Bent on a windfall rent a sony
Wonder how the dollar went down
Gotta get a word to Elizabeth's father
Hey no, he wished me well
Seemed like another day
I could fly into the eye of god on high
His burning eye will see me through
One of these days, one of these days
Gotta get a word through one of these days
Asanti habari habari habari
Asanti nabana nabana nabana
Getting in mood for a Mombassa night flight
Pushing my luck, gonna fly like a mad thing
Bare strip takeoff skimming over Rhino
Born in slumber less than peace
Struggle with a child whose screaming dreaming
Drowned by the props all steely sunshine
Sick of you, sick of me
Lust for the free life
Quashed and maimed
Like a valuable loved one
Left unnamed
Seemed like another day
I could fly into the eye of god on high
Seemed like another day
I could fly into the eye of god on high
Over the bushland over the trees
Wise like Orangutan that was me
His burning eye will see me through
One of these days, one of these days
Gotta get a word through one of these days
His burning eye will see me through
One of these days, one of these days
Gotta get a word through one of these days
Asanti habari habari habari
Asanti nabana nabana nabana
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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.
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/
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.
Bowie and his son had gone on a trip to Africa and he got part of the inspiration for this song. Also, he told Eno that he liked the idea of "talking fast." Kind of like rapping but not the same. He did this so well!