"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.
Still awake on a winter's day
Skies are gray and it's cold
Smoke signals from my last cigarette
Lets me know that it's finally getting old
Everybody hates me for the night before
The man you saw wasn't me
And now there's blood upon the bathroom floor
I've got a disease.
Wait a while all i need is a friend
Come on stay a while won't you please understand
I'm fucked up with nothing ahead but the end
I know that I'll never get sober
And I'm fed up with this miserable life after death
I know that I've taken my last breath
Memories of how it used to be
Painted thick on my walls
Cold illusions pumping through my veins
Felt them there but I didn't hear them call
Washed away all my darkest fears
Shoved them down to my soul
I keep them aged like a vintage wine
I'm sure they'll come out when they're ready to go.
Skies are gray and it's cold
Smoke signals from my last cigarette
Lets me know that it's finally getting old
Everybody hates me for the night before
The man you saw wasn't me
And now there's blood upon the bathroom floor
I've got a disease.
Wait a while all i need is a friend
Come on stay a while won't you please understand
I'm fucked up with nothing ahead but the end
I know that I'll never get sober
And I'm fed up with this miserable life after death
I know that I've taken my last breath
Memories of how it used to be
Painted thick on my walls
Cold illusions pumping through my veins
Felt them there but I didn't hear them call
Washed away all my darkest fears
Shoved them down to my soul
I keep them aged like a vintage wine
I'm sure they'll come out when they're ready to go.
Lyrics submitted by BlackLungFever
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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.
The only part of this song that doesn't fit to me, is "I'm fed up with this miserable life after death" I took it to mean I don't like what's coming in the afterlife, but I'm not sure how this fits into the song. It would make sense if he dreaded it, because he seems to have done some sort of crime while drunk. Why is he "fed up". though?