"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.
There is nothing that is stronger than the feeling that you get
When your eyes are wide open
There is nothing like the feeling, you can never forget
When your eyes are wide open
Daytime was a feeling but it's not over yet
Are my eyes still open?
We come a long long distance and we're never goin' back
Got my eyes wide open
I got both doors open
I got both doors open
I got the back door open
I got the screen door open.
In another time
In another place
There's a train running through
Right through the middle of the house
Have i been dreaming, or have i been sick?
Are my eyes wide open?
Do i do it like that, or do i do it like this?
Are my eyes wide open?
Wearing' out the carpet doin' tricks with her hands
She's got her eyes wide open?
Think about this, "well i already have."
I got both doors open
I got both doors open
I got the back door open
I got the screen door open.
Oh i don't understand
Oh it's not just a sound
Oh i don't understand
It doesn't matter at all
See the little girl with the eyes rolled back in her head
She got a complication but she knows it'll work out fine
Naked as a baby, talking 'bout the feeling she gets
In another time, in another place
I got both doors open
I got both doors open
I got the back door open
I got the screen door open.
Oh i don't understand
Oh it's not just a sound
Oh i don't understand
It doesn't matter at all
When your eyes are wide open
There is nothing like the feeling, you can never forget
When your eyes are wide open
Daytime was a feeling but it's not over yet
Are my eyes still open?
We come a long long distance and we're never goin' back
Got my eyes wide open
I got both doors open
I got both doors open
I got the back door open
I got the screen door open.
In another time
In another place
There's a train running through
Right through the middle of the house
Have i been dreaming, or have i been sick?
Are my eyes wide open?
Do i do it like that, or do i do it like this?
Are my eyes wide open?
Wearing' out the carpet doin' tricks with her hands
She's got her eyes wide open?
Think about this, "well i already have."
I got both doors open
I got both doors open
I got the back door open
I got the screen door open.
Oh i don't understand
Oh it's not just a sound
Oh i don't understand
It doesn't matter at all
See the little girl with the eyes rolled back in her head
She got a complication but she knows it'll work out fine
Naked as a baby, talking 'bout the feeling she gets
In another time, in another place
I got both doors open
I got both doors open
I got the back door open
I got the screen door open.
Oh i don't understand
Oh it's not just a sound
Oh i don't understand
It doesn't matter at all
Lyrics submitted by [inactive account]
Big Blue Plymouth (Eyes Wide Open) Lyrics as written by David Byrne
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.
Ecstasy, the feeling. Whether it is sexual, religious, or what have you. He is trying to explore the idea of being ecstatic, and figure out what it is. There is a video of Talking Heads playing this song with different videos of people in ecstasy over it. David said that he was really interested in the topic, talking about how people look so ridiculous when they are in ecstasy, but that no one really cares.