"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.
It's like a needle
A kind of evil
If you're the devil
It's very simple
You never needed anyone
You never needed anything
The pinnacle of ignorance
Epitomy of dissidence
Yeah, you're faceless
And kind of useless
But that's all pointless
Because I'm faithless
Hide away inside the dark place in my mind
Fear of God and will He take me home to fire
If you're a monster
With plans to murder
You'll find your conflict
Hangs from your shoulder
If you feel it going limp
Find your God and hold your grip
If it starts to burn your hands
Ignore the pain - stick to your plans
You feel guilty
And still you're empty
You define arrogance
Discontent and emptiness
Hide away inside the dark place in my mind
Fear of God and will He take me home to fire
I am the fire at your funeral
I am the bloody Marxist General
I'm the lonely rapist priest
And the Autocratic President
I'm the judge and inquisitor
I am the corporate funded senator
I am the stink, the shit, the hate
I am American
I am the atom-splitting scientist
And the gun-toting lunatic
I am the flag that contradicts
I am the way...
I am American!
Hide away inside the dark place in my mind
Fear of God and will He take me home to fire
A kind of evil
If you're the devil
It's very simple
You never needed anyone
You never needed anything
The pinnacle of ignorance
Epitomy of dissidence
Yeah, you're faceless
And kind of useless
But that's all pointless
Because I'm faithless
Hide away inside the dark place in my mind
Fear of God and will He take me home to fire
If you're a monster
With plans to murder
You'll find your conflict
Hangs from your shoulder
If you feel it going limp
Find your God and hold your grip
If it starts to burn your hands
Ignore the pain - stick to your plans
You feel guilty
And still you're empty
You define arrogance
Discontent and emptiness
Hide away inside the dark place in my mind
Fear of God and will He take me home to fire
I am the fire at your funeral
I am the bloody Marxist General
I'm the lonely rapist priest
And the Autocratic President
I'm the judge and inquisitor
I am the corporate funded senator
I am the stink, the shit, the hate
I am American
I am the atom-splitting scientist
And the gun-toting lunatic
I am the flag that contradicts
I am the way...
I am American!
Hide away inside the dark place in my mind
Fear of God and will He take me home to fire
Lyrics submitted by Hardcore_Icon
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Fast Car
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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.
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“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
in my opinion, its saying that no matter who you are, you can be catagorized as evil. in a sense something like that. basically the word 'evil' just totally describes many places in the song. love nothingface. sucks they broke up. real pity.
I think it's trying to get you to look at the people in your life, your congressman, your priest, because anyone can be fucked up, I also think he's talking about certain people who make up all that the world hates about us, leaders with hidden agendas, evil ideas hidden in the dark where u can't see them waiting to tear apart the threads of society, culture all the while having you believe and trust in them until all that's left is anarchy.