"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.
Everybody get down, huh
Everybody get down, huh
Everybody get down, huh
Huh, huh, huh, huh, shazam
I sneak a chicken tikka
Marsala at a gala event
I represent that stupid, that's for sure
You be like "oh yeah Adam, real mature"
I'd like a lettuce, tomato and Munster on rye
All this cheese gonna make me cry
Gorgonzola, Provolone
Don't even get me started on this microphone
I'm blowin' up like my name is Joe Bazooka
I'm a super-dooper MC party pooper
On a track so slick it'll make you feel all queasy
Make you do like Fred Sanford with "I'm comin' Wheezy!"
Everybody get down, huh
Everybody get down, huh
Everybody get down, huh
Huh, huh, huh, huh, shazam
On the court I go by the name Praying Mantis
Got the edge and I've got the advantage
If you could see things from my vantage
Point then you could better understand this
I'm in the lab all day I scrabble all night
I got a bedazzler so my outfit's tight
When it comes to panache I can't be beat
I got the most style from below Fourteenth Street
Internationally known as the Keebler Elf
Can't keep a catalog up on the shelf
You know I splash on beats like sauce on spaghetti
Putting MCs out of business like they're Crazy Eddie
Everybody get down, huh
Everybody get down, huh
Everybody get down, huh
Huh, huh, huh, huh, shazam
I know you're sitting pretty in the Hampty Hamps
Posing like you're rolling with that camp
In layman's terms let me break it down
You're flipping and flopping just like a flounder
I'm a hip hop scholar while you're left back
So Jeckle and Rush go back to Lefrac
I'm a simple man like Chance de Gardner
I'm working nine to five, Dolly Parton
I got rhymes for jerks that's bringing on drama
Which rhyme you want first, the one about your mama?
Goodness gracious, golly-gee
Shazam, freak out with the genie
Everybody get down, huh
Everybody get down, huh
Everybody get down, huh
Huh, huh, huh, huh, shazam
Everybody get down, huh
Everybody get down, huh
Huh, huh, huh, huh, shazam
I sneak a chicken tikka
Marsala at a gala event
I represent that stupid, that's for sure
You be like "oh yeah Adam, real mature"
I'd like a lettuce, tomato and Munster on rye
All this cheese gonna make me cry
Gorgonzola, Provolone
Don't even get me started on this microphone
I'm blowin' up like my name is Joe Bazooka
I'm a super-dooper MC party pooper
On a track so slick it'll make you feel all queasy
Make you do like Fred Sanford with "I'm comin' Wheezy!"
Everybody get down, huh
Everybody get down, huh
Everybody get down, huh
Huh, huh, huh, huh, shazam
On the court I go by the name Praying Mantis
Got the edge and I've got the advantage
If you could see things from my vantage
Point then you could better understand this
I'm in the lab all day I scrabble all night
I got a bedazzler so my outfit's tight
When it comes to panache I can't be beat
I got the most style from below Fourteenth Street
Internationally known as the Keebler Elf
Can't keep a catalog up on the shelf
You know I splash on beats like sauce on spaghetti
Putting MCs out of business like they're Crazy Eddie
Everybody get down, huh
Everybody get down, huh
Everybody get down, huh
Huh, huh, huh, huh, shazam
I know you're sitting pretty in the Hampty Hamps
Posing like you're rolling with that camp
In layman's terms let me break it down
You're flipping and flopping just like a flounder
I'm a hip hop scholar while you're left back
So Jeckle and Rush go back to Lefrac
I'm a simple man like Chance de Gardner
I'm working nine to five, Dolly Parton
I got rhymes for jerks that's bringing on drama
Which rhyme you want first, the one about your mama?
Goodness gracious, golly-gee
Shazam, freak out with the genie
Everybody get down, huh
Everybody get down, huh
Everybody get down, huh
Huh, huh, huh, huh, shazam
Lyrics submitted by maggotbrain
Shazam! Lyrics as written by Ronald Nathan Bell Robert Bell
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
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,
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/
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.
"Everybody get down"- from the song Open Sesame by Kool & the Gang.