"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.
[Intro]
This motherfucker here, just won't shut up will you?
Talk about I owe you, bitch you owe me
I'm promoting you right now
Man lets put the nail in his coffin
[Chorus]
I don't wanna be like this
I don't really wanna hurt no feelings
But I'm only bein real when I say nobody wants to hear their grandfather rap
Old men have heart attacks
and I don't want to be responsible for that so
Put the mic down and walk away
You can still have a little bit of dignity
[verse 1]
I would never claim to be no, Ray Benzino,
an 83 year old fake Pachino,
So how can he hold me over some balcony
without throwin' his lower back out as soon as he goes to lift me,
Please don't, you'll probably fall with me
and our asses will both be history,
But then again you'll finally get your wish,
cuz you'll be all over the street like 50 Cent
Fuckin punk pussy fuck you chump
gimme a one-on-one see if I dont fuck you up
Tryin to jump the Ruff Ryders and they cut you up
And you put Jada on a track thats how much you suck
dick in the industry, swear that you in the streets hustlin
You sit behind a fuckin' desk at The Source butt-kissin'
and beggin' motherfuckers for guest appearances
and you can even get the clearances cuz real lyricists
don't even respect you or take you serious
It's not that we don't like you, we hate you - period
Talk about a mid-life crisis damn
last week you was shakin' Obie Trice's hand
Now hes a busta? What the fucks with that?
Get on a track dissin' us kissin' 50's ass
and askin' me what I know about inditements-bite me
bitch I got two cases, and probation - fight me!
What do I know about standin' in front of a judge like a man
ready to take whatever sentence he hands
What you know about your wife slicin her wrists
right in front of the only thing you have in this world - a little girl?
And I put that on her, when this is all over
I would never try to make her a star and eat off her
I don't know shit about no shoppin rocks
But what you know about hip-hop shops rockin' spots?
When your the only white boy in that bitch just rippin
pressin' up your own flyers and your stickers stickin
them bitches up after spendin' six hours at Kinkos
Just makin' copys of your covers of cassette singles
and sell them out the trunk of your Tracer
Spendin' your whole paychecks at Disc Makers
What you know about bein' bullied over half your life?
Oh that's right, you should know what that's like, your half white
Vanilla Ice,spill the beans and rice, I'm eaten you alive inside
Jesus Christ, if you're that much of a gangster, put the mic down
You should be out killin motherfuckers right now
Kill a motherfucker dead, kill'em dead bitch
Shoot'em in the fuckin' head, go ahead bitch
Slap my mom, slap the fuck outta her!
She can't sue you, she wouldnt get a buck out of you
Cuz your broke as fuck you suck your a fuckin' joke
If you was really sellin coke, well then what the fuck
you stop for dummy? If you slew some crack
you'd make alot more money than you do from rap
You never had no security, you'll never be famous
You'll never now what its like to be rich, lifes a bitch aint it?
Raymond, here, let me break this shit down in lamens
terms for you just to make sure that you can understand this
and Canibus they usin too many complicated fuckin words for you
Here then let me slow it down for you
so you can understand if I say it slower:
Let it go dawg it's over
[Chorus]
[Outro]
Haha
Talkin' bout I have motherfuckers callin' your crib
bitch you ain't even got a fuckin' crib
You ain't even got a fuckin' phone, fuckin' Bum
Threatened to shut me down at your little fuckin' Source magazine
if I come back then you would attack me, bitch you attacked me first
take it like a man and shut the fuck up
and fuck your little magazine too
I don't need your fuckin' magazine, I got Double X L's number anywayz
And yall cant stand it cuz there gettin' bigger than yall
oh, and by the way, how'd I look on the V-M-A's?
When you was watchin' me from whatever fuckin TV you was watchin' me from in Boston
The mean streets of Boston, fuckin' sissy
Like you got us scared in the motherfucker, suck our motherfuckin' dicks
Oh, and for those thats dont know, dont get it twisted yo', the Source has a white owner
This motherfucker here, just won't shut up will you?
Talk about I owe you, bitch you owe me
I'm promoting you right now
Man lets put the nail in his coffin
[Chorus]
I don't wanna be like this
I don't really wanna hurt no feelings
But I'm only bein real when I say nobody wants to hear their grandfather rap
Old men have heart attacks
and I don't want to be responsible for that so
Put the mic down and walk away
You can still have a little bit of dignity
[verse 1]
I would never claim to be no, Ray Benzino,
an 83 year old fake Pachino,
So how can he hold me over some balcony
without throwin' his lower back out as soon as he goes to lift me,
Please don't, you'll probably fall with me
and our asses will both be history,
But then again you'll finally get your wish,
cuz you'll be all over the street like 50 Cent
Fuckin punk pussy fuck you chump
gimme a one-on-one see if I dont fuck you up
Tryin to jump the Ruff Ryders and they cut you up
And you put Jada on a track thats how much you suck
dick in the industry, swear that you in the streets hustlin
You sit behind a fuckin' desk at The Source butt-kissin'
and beggin' motherfuckers for guest appearances
and you can even get the clearances cuz real lyricists
don't even respect you or take you serious
It's not that we don't like you, we hate you - period
Talk about a mid-life crisis damn
last week you was shakin' Obie Trice's hand
Now hes a busta? What the fucks with that?
Get on a track dissin' us kissin' 50's ass
and askin' me what I know about inditements-bite me
bitch I got two cases, and probation - fight me!
What do I know about standin' in front of a judge like a man
ready to take whatever sentence he hands
What you know about your wife slicin her wrists
right in front of the only thing you have in this world - a little girl?
And I put that on her, when this is all over
I would never try to make her a star and eat off her
I don't know shit about no shoppin rocks
But what you know about hip-hop shops rockin' spots?
When your the only white boy in that bitch just rippin
pressin' up your own flyers and your stickers stickin
them bitches up after spendin' six hours at Kinkos
Just makin' copys of your covers of cassette singles
and sell them out the trunk of your Tracer
Spendin' your whole paychecks at Disc Makers
What you know about bein' bullied over half your life?
Oh that's right, you should know what that's like, your half white
Vanilla Ice,spill the beans and rice, I'm eaten you alive inside
Jesus Christ, if you're that much of a gangster, put the mic down
You should be out killin motherfuckers right now
Kill a motherfucker dead, kill'em dead bitch
Shoot'em in the fuckin' head, go ahead bitch
Slap my mom, slap the fuck outta her!
She can't sue you, she wouldnt get a buck out of you
Cuz your broke as fuck you suck your a fuckin' joke
If you was really sellin coke, well then what the fuck
you stop for dummy? If you slew some crack
you'd make alot more money than you do from rap
You never had no security, you'll never be famous
You'll never now what its like to be rich, lifes a bitch aint it?
Raymond, here, let me break this shit down in lamens
terms for you just to make sure that you can understand this
and Canibus they usin too many complicated fuckin words for you
Here then let me slow it down for you
so you can understand if I say it slower:
Let it go dawg it's over
[Chorus]
[Outro]
Haha
Talkin' bout I have motherfuckers callin' your crib
bitch you ain't even got a fuckin' crib
You ain't even got a fuckin' phone, fuckin' Bum
Threatened to shut me down at your little fuckin' Source magazine
if I come back then you would attack me, bitch you attacked me first
take it like a man and shut the fuck up
and fuck your little magazine too
I don't need your fuckin' magazine, I got Double X L's number anywayz
And yall cant stand it cuz there gettin' bigger than yall
oh, and by the way, how'd I look on the V-M-A's?
When you was watchin' me from whatever fuckin TV you was watchin' me from in Boston
The mean streets of Boston, fuckin' sissy
Like you got us scared in the motherfucker, suck our motherfuckin' dicks
Oh, and for those thats dont know, dont get it twisted yo', the Source has a white owner
Lyrics submitted by BLuweesH
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
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
holy shit. he rips this dude apart. completly. he must really really hate this guy. Everything. and at the end hes like you dont even have fucking phone, you fucking punk. holyy shitt id hate to be this guy. Id be so embarresed. Em is just so clever at dissing people. and then he's like let me slow it down for you and the music goes slower. i lughed out loud at that part. And then it seems like hes putting himself down, but he turns it around.
Slap my mom, slap the fuck outta her! She can't sue you, she wouldnt get a buck out of you Cuz your broke as fuck you suck your a fuckin' joke If you was really sellin coke, well then what the fuck you stop for dummy? If you slew some crack you'd make alot more money than you do from rap You never had no security, you'll never be famous You'll never now what its like to be rich, lifes a bitch aint it?
That is probably the best part of the song.