"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 knowin' that your door is always open
And your path is free to walk
That makes me tend to leave my sleepin' bag rolled up
And stashed behind your couch
And it's knowin' I'm not shackled by forgotten words and bonds
And the ink stains that have dried upon some lines
That keeps you in the back roads by the rivers of my memory
And keeps you ever gentle on my mind
It's not clingin' to the rocks and ivy
Planted on their columns now that bind me
Or somethin' that somebody said
Because they thought we fit together walkin'
It's just knowin' that the world will not be cursin' or forgivin'
When I walk along some railroad track and find
That you're movin' on the back roads by the rivers of my memory
And for hours you're just gentle on my mind
Though the wheat fields and the coastlines
And the junkyards and the highways come between us
And some other woman's cryin' to her mother
'Cause she turned and I was gone
I still might run in silence, tears of joy might stain my face
And the summer sun might burn me till I'm blind
But not to where I cannot see you walkin' on the back roads
By the rivers flowin' gentle on my mind
I dip my cup of soup
Back from a gurglin', cracklin' cauldron in some train yard
My beard a roughenin' coal pile
And a dirty hat pulled low across my face
Through cupped hands 'round a tin can
I pretend to hold you to my breast and find
That you're wavin' from the back roads by the rivers of my memories
Ever smilin', ever gentle on my mind
And your path is free to walk
That makes me tend to leave my sleepin' bag rolled up
And stashed behind your couch
And it's knowin' I'm not shackled by forgotten words and bonds
And the ink stains that have dried upon some lines
That keeps you in the back roads by the rivers of my memory
And keeps you ever gentle on my mind
It's not clingin' to the rocks and ivy
Planted on their columns now that bind me
Or somethin' that somebody said
Because they thought we fit together walkin'
It's just knowin' that the world will not be cursin' or forgivin'
When I walk along some railroad track and find
That you're movin' on the back roads by the rivers of my memory
And for hours you're just gentle on my mind
Though the wheat fields and the coastlines
And the junkyards and the highways come between us
And some other woman's cryin' to her mother
'Cause she turned and I was gone
I still might run in silence, tears of joy might stain my face
And the summer sun might burn me till I'm blind
But not to where I cannot see you walkin' on the back roads
By the rivers flowin' gentle on my mind
I dip my cup of soup
Back from a gurglin', cracklin' cauldron in some train yard
My beard a roughenin' coal pile
And a dirty hat pulled low across my face
Through cupped hands 'round a tin can
I pretend to hold you to my breast and find
That you're wavin' from the back roads by the rivers of my memories
Ever smilin', ever gentle on my mind
Lyrics submitted by faeriellen, edited by emen7, cageyH
Gentle on My Mind Lyrics as written by John Hartford
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The man wants to be free of commitments , and doesnt want to be tied down.. He is a wanderer and would love to explore the world and travel. Life is a journey.. Someone in his life loves him unconditionally, loves him always whether he's near or far.. And he knows, he will be accepted anytime he comes back, whether he returns physically or by imagination.. That person touched his heart but he is a free spirit and he will wander and roam.. And yet, this object of his affection shall always be in his memory, and will forever be gentle on his mind..
@jambapanda I feel your are exactly right. I woke up from a dream. Glen Cambell was singing Gentle on my mind. I said his name, he looked at me and I woke up.. I have been confused about this song for long time wondering why did I have a dream about this. I'm always wondering about this song when I hear it..
@jambapanda For me this song (GOMM) is about hardship, separation, and a man's deep and abiding love for a sweetheart he is separated from physically, but never consciously. The movie Dr Zhivago (which inspired the song) was about the chaos and hardships of the Russian revolution and the forced physical separation of lovers by war and its chaos. The song also points out that its love which binds and commits this man to his girl, and not the ink stains on a marriage contract. <br /> When I listen to GOMM I imagine a man searching for work during hard times like the great depression or after a war (I dip my cup of soup Back from a gurglin', cracklin' cauldron in some train yard) and finding comfort and inspiration from the memory of this love of his life, a memory which nothing - even blindness- can take from him.