"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.
The dawn is breaking
A light shining through
You're barely waking
And I'm tangled up in you
Yeah
I'm open, you're closed
Where I follow, you'll go
I worry I won't see your face
Light up again
Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills your mind
I somehow find that
You and I collide
I'm quiet you know
You make a first impression
I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind
Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the stars refuse to shine
Out of the back you fall in time
I somehow find that
You and I collide
Well, don't stop here
And I've lost my place
And I'm close behind
Even the best fall down sometimes
And even the wrong words seem to rhyme
And out of the doubt that fills your mind
You finally find
You and I collide
You finally find
You and I collide
You finally find
You and I collide
A light shining through
You're barely waking
And I'm tangled up in you
Yeah
I'm open, you're closed
Where I follow, you'll go
I worry I won't see your face
Light up again
Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills your mind
I somehow find that
You and I collide
I'm quiet you know
You make a first impression
I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind
Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the stars refuse to shine
Out of the back you fall in time
I somehow find that
You and I collide
Well, don't stop here
And I've lost my place
And I'm close behind
Even the best fall down sometimes
And even the wrong words seem to rhyme
And out of the doubt that fills your mind
You finally find
You and I collide
You finally find
You and I collide
You finally find
You and I collide
Lyrics submitted by Mellow012, edited by emilyrae41
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My favorite Howie Day song. It has this melancholy sense to it that I just adore. I think its about inexplicably loving someone. They are opposites and are unsure if they truly compliment each other. The relationship is in trouble and he finds that he'll do anything to keep it alive. He realizes hes almost afraid of the emensity of the relationship; "I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind." Yet, this relationship means so much to him that he can't bear to let it die. He can't bear the thought of never seeing her face light up again. Therefore, he'll do follow her where ever she goes. Even though their relationship is screwed up- as most things in the world get some time- he finds that they will always "collide."
@jenna1027 BeautifuL!
first off, i So totally LOVE this song.
in my own personal opinion, i don't see this as a relationship ending, but rather a relationship beginning.
maybe these two people had known each other for a while but were always only just friends. and then something happened where they realized they could actually be a couple....except they never said anything to each other... they were both having some serious feelings for each other, except they never spoke it aloud. so they became awkward and stopped being friends...stopped seeing each other. and then maybe they ran into each other at the park or a coffee shop or something, got together, started talking, and realized that they really were meant to be together after all. kind of like "when harry met sally"...
This!
@Desaparecida <br /> I really like your interpretation.
well this song happens to personally describe one of my current relationships..i am a girl but besides the fact that its a guy talking abotu a girl it relaly seems to hit the nail on the head...i know this isnt how everyone interprets it but after all it does ask what does it mean to YOU
"The dawn is breaking A light shining through You're barely waking And I'm tangled up in you"
ok well me and my guy have been best friends for a while and weve been through some rough times together- but now its all better hence the dawn is braking- and we both know that were meant to be together but hes still kind of waking up to that idea, but im already infatuated or "tangled up in you"
"I'm open, your closed Where I'll follow you'll go I worry I won't see your face Light up again" I'm open to commitment and being involved romantically, where as hes been hurt in the past and is "closed" and this lyric is so amazing becuase its the very thing that haunts me bout having a relationship with him that things woudl get so serious that we wouldnt be able to laugh anymore and his face does light up when he laughs o man its just the greatest thing lol sry.. lol
"Even the best fall down sometimes Even the wrong words seem to rhyme Out of the doubt that fills my mind I somehow find you and I collide" Even me, whose very resilient and usually able to put on a happy facade, gets stuck on guys liek him...and even though often i doubt the legitimacy of our relationship...i still find taht we "collide" and our destined to be together
"I'm quiet you know You make a first impression I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind" Well recently, my guy admitted that he does have feelings for me too but is simply scared..this is someone intimidating to have the person u liek liek u back when ur not sure what to do about it..so in a sence i have foudn that im scared to know im always on his mind
"Even the best fall down sometimes Even the stars refuse to shine Out of the back you fall in time Somehow find you and I collide" again, even the greatest of couplings..doesnt always work out so great..."out of the abck you fall in time" time is a very important thing in our relationship- ive liekd him for half a year and its taken him this long even to reciprocate
"Don't stop here I lost my place I'm close behind" recently i dated this other guy but then realize i still had feelings for my guy..its saying dont stop here to him...i sitll love u and supposrt you and im right here for you
"Even the best fall down sometimes Even the wrong words seem to rhyme Out of the doubt that fills your mind You finally find you and I collide " and finally the best verse of all...well the wrong words seem to rhyme- two people that its no working otu for they still seem to just..fit......and theres a lot of doubt that fills his mind but i konw that eventually he will see in us what i do and that we do eventually collide..
@the quirky cutie...WOW! you just described whats happening to now..i really love this girl and i'll have to wait and see what happens next..thanks for your explanations.
I'm really amazed on how you just figure out what just happened on us.i know she has feelings for me also, coz she told this after confessing my feelings to her but she told me that she wanted to keep our friendship intact and that she doesn't want to loose me.after that incident we've talked again and joked around as if nothing happened but lately shes avoiding me. I'm really confused now.
Nailed it. It's about being in love with someone who's afraid to let you into her heart.
This is how I interpret the lyrics: The narrator is a boy (or man) who is quiet ("I'm quiet, you know") and sees himself as weak in some way. The subject of the song is a girl he's been observing, admiring, and putting on a pedestal; he sees her as a confident leader who knows where she's going ("You make a first impression"), a source of strength. The problem is that when she responds to his pursual of her, she opens up and shows her weakness and wants to lean on someone (him), while he's not sure he wants her to because he liked leaning on her.
"The dawn is breaking A light shining through You're barely waking And I'm tangled up in you"
The first verse conveys that he's liked her a long time and she is just "waking up" to him and beginning to fall in love. "The dawn is breaking" on their relationship.
"I'm open, you're closed Where I follow, you'll go I worry I won't see your face Light up again"
This second stanza of the first verse relates that the narrator sees himself as a follower, and the girl as a leader. She is strong and has set ways of doing things ("closed") and makes a path where she goes that he is "open" to just following. The last two lines of the stanza are a response to his realization that she's actually looking at him the same way he's looking at her. SHE'S the strong brilliant one, SHE'S got it all together. If she sees me as something great, that can't be good for her. He's losing his illusion; he liked just observing her from afar and having this warped sense of who she is--no one can be completely strong all the time, but that's what he enjoyed believing about her.
"Even the best fall down sometimes Even the wrong words seem to rhyme Out of the doubt that fills my mind I somehow find, you and I collide"
The first chorus shows that the narrator is coming to terms with the fact that the girl he admires might have weaknesses ("Even the best fall down sometimes") and he actually seems to be realizing that things could still be okay between them. He is toying with the notion that even the most unlikely matches can work ("Even the wrong words seem to rhyme"), so maybe a strong girl really could love a weak boy.
"I'm quiet, you know You make a first impression I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind"
Again, he is scared ("to know [he's] always on [her] mind") because he wanted to just sit back and let her be everything, but she is actually giving him credit as a person, which also puts responsibility on him.
"Even the best fall down sometimes Even the stars refuse to shine Out of the back you fall in time I somehow find, you and I collide"
This is where it gets confusing and I'd greatly appreciate some input. The second line is clearly about the girl desiring to be out of the lime-light for a while, but i don't understand the third line. What is "the back"? She "falls in time"--is that like, in time with a beat, as in, she becomes a follower? Or what?
"Don't stop here I've lost my place I'm close behind"
A little bridge--not sure exactly about this either. I've thought a bit about the idea that maybe this is the girl speaking now because if you look at the last chorus:
"Even the best fall down sometimes Even the wrong words seem to rhyme Out of the doubt that fills your mind You finally find, you and I collide"
SHE is the one that had doubts now. So what's that about??
Wow!! I know this is forever ago.. but I truely love how you interpreted this song.. this goes exactly with my situation ... This song has been following me for years & I fell so much in love with this song & somehow Ive come to this exact interpretation you have made... Now Im the one (the girl) with the doubts. Amazing... THANKS.
That is such a good interpretation! Fantastic in fact! What I think "Out of the back you fall in time" means is that out of nowhere she suddenly seems to fit back into normal society, as a normal person, and not a super extraordinary person. Basically I think another way to say it is: "Out of nowhere you fall back in line". And when I say in line, I mean as in like back in in line with the rest of us! <br /> <br /> And the part that says <br /> "Don't stop here<br /> I've lost my place<br /> I'm close behind" <br /> I think just means that she has lost her place (of being the oh so pwerful and confident one) and now she is almost the same as him so SHE needs HIS help now so she asks him not to stop and keep going.<br /> <br /> I know its been like five years since that was posted but I just wanted to say thats what I think it means for anyone who is reading this. It's a great song and I don't know what I would do without it!
Firstly, now I'm thinking he said exactly:<br /> <br /> "Even the stars refuse to shine<br /> Out of the back you fall in time"<br /> <br /> is because it comes after "Even the best fall down sometimes" and the start of each line sounds like the next two lines:<br /> <br /> "Even the wrong words seem to rhyme<br /> Out of the doubt that fills my mind"<br /> <br /> And also I've been thinking about part that says:<br /> <br /> "Don't stop here<br /> I've lost my place<br /> I'm close behind" <br /> <br /> And I am now thinking that it isn't the girl saying that, but it is still the guy! He is saying to her that she is showing her weaknesses more now and that he doesn't want her to stop, he wants her to stay like that. And then he is saying that he has lost his place of just admiring her from afar and tagging her as perfect, but he is getting used to it and has almost caught up (to reality)!<br /> <br /> <br />
anjaba i cant agree with you more,u have an amazing and i mean really amazing way of reading between the lines and looking deeper than just the surface.... i look for that in my mates!:)<br /> <br /> Back to the song i cant think of a better song,i think its just about the bestest song ever produced and reading ur interpretation which i think is perfect for me to relate the song,i love it all the more!!
I know this is old, but still.<br /> <br /> "Even the best fall down sometimes<br /> Even the wrong words seem to rhyme<br /> Out of the doubt that fills your mind<br /> You finally find, you and I collide"<br /> <br /> That last chorus explains that they changed roles, and that he is the one who believes in them, and she is the one who is madly in love and doubts their relationship, much like him at the start of the song.
i think it's about 2 people in a relationship that know it won't work out because they are very different people. but somehow they always find an excuse to stay together. they somehow "collide". :)
@diegorockusa <br /> OR for some reason they can't be together, but that doesn't stop their feelings for each other.
"i've found i'm scared to know i'm always on your mind" beautiful lyrics
AWWW....no its not
Been debating for 9 yrs if this is "our song" or not.
The dawn is breaking (AM) A light shining through( Sunrise) You're barely waking And I'm tangled up in you( He's already making love to me) Yeah
I'm open, you're closed (We're opposites in so many ways) Where I follow, you'll go (A fudge or studder for wher I go he'd follow as if to say he's in love and basically would do anything I say) I worry I won't see your face Light up again( Wonders if I'll leave and never contact him ever again)
Even the best fall down sometimes ( We all get hit with love and sometimes it is not right) Even the wrong words seem to rhyme (When in love, everything is a poetic poem) Out of the doubt that fills my mind I somehow find You and I collide (We met for a reason, why not love)
I'm quiet you know You make a first impression I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind ( he wishes)
Even the best fall down sometimes Even the stars refuse to shine Out of the back you fall in time I somehow find You and I collide
Don't stop here I've lost my place I'm close behind
Even the best fall down sometimes Even the wrong words seem to rhyme Out of the doubt that fills your mind You finally find You and I collide
You finally find You and I collide You finally find You and I collide
to me this means simply: no matter how bad things get, or how wrong their timing may seem, they will always wind up back to each other because it is meant to be.
i love the "don't stop here / i lost my place / i'm close behind" part -- he's saying even if it seems like we're falling apart or growing apart, don't stop, keep going, because i'm right behind you.
@TxBxS <br /> <br /> Exactly!
this is the most amazing song i've probably ever heard. i want it to be my wedding song. the end, carry on.