"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.
We lost the skyline
We stepped right off the map
Drifted in to blank space
And let the clocks relapse
We laughed the rain down
Slow burn on the lawn
Ghosts across the lawn
Swallowed up the storm
Sometimes I feel like a fist
Sometimes I am the color of air
Sometimes it's only afterwards
I find that I'm not there
In the dream dusk
We walked beside the lake
We watched the sky move sideways
And heard the evening break
Sometimes I feel like a fist
Sometimes I am the color of air
Sometimes it's only afterwards
I find that I'm not there
We stepped right off the map
Drifted in to blank space
And let the clocks relapse
We laughed the rain down
Slow burn on the lawn
Ghosts across the lawn
Swallowed up the storm
Sometimes I feel like a fist
Sometimes I am the color of air
Sometimes it's only afterwards
I find that I'm not there
In the dream dusk
We walked beside the lake
We watched the sky move sideways
And heard the evening break
Sometimes I feel like a fist
Sometimes I am the color of air
Sometimes it's only afterwards
I find that I'm not there
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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/
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Incidentally, I figured out what the really faint voice near the beginning is saying.
In three sequential parts, it's
"I don't understand, my lord." (I'm not sure about the "my lord" bit, but it's definitely "I don't understand".)
"In the way of circumstances and background I had everything an artist could possibly want."
"It was practically a blueprint."
The latter two are part of a quote from English writer, playwright and humorist Alan Bennett. The full quote is as follows.
I'd say that's reflective on Steven Wilson's views of art, probably.
i feel like this song is about some type of psychadelic drug... in which many peculiar, drug related feelings were felt. drifted into blank space, I find that im not there...
To me, this song is about the modern industrial era and how there's no mystery to life anymore:
"We lost the skyline We stepped right off the map"
This refers to the invention of airplane and being able to fly. The sky is no longer something to look and marvel at, hence "we lost the skyline"
"Drifted in to blank space And let the clocks relapse"
-refering to spacetravel and so forth
A lot of the porcupine tree songs are deep
Whenever I see a plane in the sky I think of these lyrics.
I think a lot of porcupine tree's lyrics are defying the rational explanation of things, that is that everything these days seems to have some scientific or reasonable divination...but they are still looking at everything as though they know of none of this, and interpreting it all for themselves. I like that.
Yeah, Ogre seems right. I think the lyrics describe a drug trip and what someone senses during it.
esp. the title "the sky moves sideways"
--it's such a simple thing, but when I read that I thought, wow... why have I never seen it that way? if you look at the sky for what it is, the clouds, and everything in it, from the human perspective, appear to always be moving sideways.
Wow. I got the remastered The Sky Moves Sideways yesterday, and it is incredible. Simply amazing. Currently, the extended version of TSMSW is my favourite track... Even topping Pink Floyd's Echoes, and that's close to blasphemy. In my opinion, this album has already beat it past Wish You Were Here and Dark Side Of The Moon, and is currently battling Animals and In The Court Of The Crimson King for my favourite album.
I also bought Up The Downstair and Stars Die: The Delerium Yeats, although I've been so preoccupied with Sideways that I haven't gotten around to listening to them yet.
Shine On
bloodandsoil, I think that your explanation is the most probable. It makes sense entirely.
I frankly think it's about air travel.
We lost the skyline: No skyline in the air. We stepped right off the map: The map is the ground. You're off it. Drifted into blank space: Obvious. And let the clocks relapse: Time zones. In travelling far, the clocks relapse.
We laughed the rain down: Flying above the rain. Slow burn on the lawn: Airplane landing or take off. Ghosts across the lawn: Don't know about this. Swallowed up the storm: Nither this. But storms and air travel sorta go together.
Wow, this is a really abstract song. Remotely understandable. Strangely beautiful.