"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.
With nothing to lose you'd waste away
Obscure in exile
They've witnessed the times
You've gone astray
Whose fault? now you're thinking...
There's nothing to prove
A message from the crowd
To the shore...
And it feels now
Just like heaven's coming down
Your soul shakes free
As its conscience hits the ground
So strange are the ways,
They all have changed
Still life it stays the same
A break from the past
Could make it last
Maybe just a little longer
There's nothing to prove
A message from the crowd
To the shore...
You surrender
Love under will
Rest assured you're adored
And it feels now
Just lie heaven's coming down
Your soul shakes free
As its conscience hits the ground
This time, no tears,
Just one last chance to see you prove
Stay strong, no fears
There is a change that's
Coming through
Hold on my love
Hold on...
Obscure in exile
They've witnessed the times
You've gone astray
Whose fault? now you're thinking...
There's nothing to prove
A message from the crowd
To the shore...
And it feels now
Just like heaven's coming down
Your soul shakes free
As its conscience hits the ground
So strange are the ways,
They all have changed
Still life it stays the same
A break from the past
Could make it last
Maybe just a little longer
There's nothing to prove
A message from the crowd
To the shore...
You surrender
Love under will
Rest assured you're adored
And it feels now
Just lie heaven's coming down
Your soul shakes free
As its conscience hits the ground
This time, no tears,
Just one last chance to see you prove
Stay strong, no fears
There is a change that's
Coming through
Hold on my love
Hold on...
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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”
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/
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
I know Jeff likes to use occult symbolism a lot, and the three words 'love under will' have a very suggestive meaning, as part of the statement 'Love is the Law, Love under Will', which is part of the Law of Thelema, or True Will. This is Aleister Crowley's turf.
Totally. The soul shakes free of the conscience when True Will, which is the aim of Thelema, is realised and acted upon. <br /> <br /> "These signs, this fate<br /> Takes a path you didn't choose"<br /> <br /> Because your True Self chose before you, as a separated consciousness, came into being. Your consciousness is a way of separating your True Self from its innate divinity, so as to experience creation and the wonder of Being, because it can't from its natural point of view; that is, omniscience.<br /> <br /> Was Jeff a Thelemite? Are there other references to Thelema in his lyrics?
This is a tricky one. The imagery's very vivid and pleasantly haphazard, but, the meaning's fairly simple, if not easy to describe. It sounds as though the singer's talking about/talking to a person who has fallen into their 'normal' life to the point of being locked in it. Acceptance bringing defeat, that sort of thing, chained by their history. The 'narrator', in this case, is describing the sort of change it would take - namely, finding love in a new direction - in order to break free from the norm. It almost guarentees a complete change of the person in question and their overall way of life, but, he's promising that it will become a change for the best. "Heaven Coming Down", in this case, is the proverbial 'bliss' falling onto the person all at once, crashing and painful, but in the end, much better than he/she has been living.
very good explanation.
Greatest Tea party song !
I've no idea what it's about but it's an amazing song.
Great song.
good song, but theres a mistake in the lyrics.
"A message from the crowd To the shore..."
should be:
"snapshot from the crowd to the shore, baby"
This is the first song I remember hearing when I was a kid. My mom is a huge Tea Party fan. Beautiful.
This song is absolutely beautiful. The arpeggios in the guitar almost make you feel like you're in free fall and never want to come down.
I remember seeing Tea Party at the Friendship Festival 2003. The moment they started playing Heaven Coming Down it started to pour. As if God was saying "I heard you, man." This is a song that I like to play when I need that lift. And it is a constant reminder of that good time.
If you listen to the words, regardless of the use of the occult references or just the broken meter of the lyrics, the title "Heaven Coming Down" just implies being showered with grace. The rest of the song is related to rebirth. But what's more important is that if you close your eyes and don't even listen to the lyrics, you feel the meaning.
Anyone agree or dod I just sound like a fanatic?
this is the most beautiful song ever. it will always be my favorite tea party song. jeff's vocals are amazing and the instrumentals are phenominal. this song always has the abilty to calm me down and take all the stresses away.
There are so many errors in this it's ridiculous.