"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.
Yeah
Uh-huh
Yeah
That's right
Gotta get off the phone, bust this verse
Aight
Okay
I'm anti-imperial
Anti-trust
Anti-gun if the shit won't bust
Anti-corporate, they anti-my essence
Anti-snortin' them anti-depressants
But I'm not pro-poppin' em
I'm provocative
And pro-stoppin' them FBI operatives
Who professional at Black Man Pounce
And hand you a sentence that you can't pronounce
I'm also anti-narco, anti-vice
911 marks the anti-christ
They anti-social, pointin' M-16's
Guess I'm anti-the-anti-nigger-machine
Proletarian, funkadelicparliamentarian
Pro-revolt-in-the-21st-centurian
Pro-running up in Congress sayin' "fuck it all!"
But bring the people with you, that's the protocol
This beat is joyful like jailbreaks
The whole world is anti-United Snakes
So check it out, anticipate the anti-venom
And move your antibodies to this revolution rhythm
We goin' be fuckin' with 'em
Pro-union but most lost they bite
Anti-muthafuckas-crossin' a strike
Take a look around and be for or against
But you can't do shit if you ridin' the fence
Ride the fence
Now you don't really wanna
Ride the fence
Now do you really wanna
Ride the fence?
Why would you really wanna
Ride the fence
Don't ride the fence
Ride the fence
Now you don't really wanna
Ride the fence
Now do you really wanna
Ride the fence?
Why would you really wanna
Ride the fence
Don't ride the fence
I'm anti-uppin'-your-dollars-with-telekinesis
(I done tried everyday, and that shit decreases)
Anti-them-anti-crime-bill-pieces
We need cash and that's the anti-thesis
I'm pro-overthrow of the "Hip-Hop Nation"
Pro-layin'-low-til-I'm-off-probation
Pro-people's-control-of-the-cash-and-corporations
Pro-prophylactic yet pro-creation
Anti-watered-down-drinks-in-fancy-cups
Anti-promoters-who-don't-ante-up
But I'm not anti-thug
I know that power is the most effective anti-drug
I'm pro-Zapatista
Pro-Cuba
Viva!
Pro-la raza sayin' "fuck la migra!"
Policia se asesina
Lemme show you what I mean
I'm anti-republican and democratic
If they self-destruct
That's anti-climactic
Tired of bein' hunted like an antelope
Take the system by the throat
That's the antidote
So I pose a proposition
Take a look, be in support or opposition
Then be proactive proceed with confidence
'Cause you know that you can't change shit by ridin' the fence
Ride the fence
Now you don't really wanna
Ride the fence
Now do you really wanna
Ride the fence?
Why would you really wanna
Ride the fence
Don't ride the fence
Ride the fence
Now you don't really wanna
Ride the fence
Now do you really wanna
Ride the fence?
Why would you really wanna
Ride the fence
Don't ride the fence
Uh-huh
Yeah
That's right
Gotta get off the phone, bust this verse
Aight
Okay
I'm anti-imperial
Anti-trust
Anti-gun if the shit won't bust
Anti-corporate, they anti-my essence
Anti-snortin' them anti-depressants
But I'm not pro-poppin' em
I'm provocative
And pro-stoppin' them FBI operatives
Who professional at Black Man Pounce
And hand you a sentence that you can't pronounce
I'm also anti-narco, anti-vice
911 marks the anti-christ
They anti-social, pointin' M-16's
Guess I'm anti-the-anti-nigger-machine
Proletarian, funkadelicparliamentarian
Pro-revolt-in-the-21st-centurian
Pro-running up in Congress sayin' "fuck it all!"
But bring the people with you, that's the protocol
This beat is joyful like jailbreaks
The whole world is anti-United Snakes
So check it out, anticipate the anti-venom
And move your antibodies to this revolution rhythm
We goin' be fuckin' with 'em
Pro-union but most lost they bite
Anti-muthafuckas-crossin' a strike
Take a look around and be for or against
But you can't do shit if you ridin' the fence
Ride the fence
Now you don't really wanna
Ride the fence
Now do you really wanna
Ride the fence?
Why would you really wanna
Ride the fence
Don't ride the fence
Ride the fence
Now you don't really wanna
Ride the fence
Now do you really wanna
Ride the fence?
Why would you really wanna
Ride the fence
Don't ride the fence
I'm anti-uppin'-your-dollars-with-telekinesis
(I done tried everyday, and that shit decreases)
Anti-them-anti-crime-bill-pieces
We need cash and that's the anti-thesis
I'm pro-overthrow of the "Hip-Hop Nation"
Pro-layin'-low-til-I'm-off-probation
Pro-people's-control-of-the-cash-and-corporations
Pro-prophylactic yet pro-creation
Anti-watered-down-drinks-in-fancy-cups
Anti-promoters-who-don't-ante-up
But I'm not anti-thug
I know that power is the most effective anti-drug
I'm pro-Zapatista
Pro-Cuba
Viva!
Pro-la raza sayin' "fuck la migra!"
Policia se asesina
Lemme show you what I mean
I'm anti-republican and democratic
If they self-destruct
That's anti-climactic
Tired of bein' hunted like an antelope
Take the system by the throat
That's the antidote
So I pose a proposition
Take a look, be in support or opposition
Then be proactive proceed with confidence
'Cause you know that you can't change shit by ridin' the fence
Ride the fence
Now you don't really wanna
Ride the fence
Now do you really wanna
Ride the fence?
Why would you really wanna
Ride the fence
Don't ride the fence
Ride the fence
Now you don't really wanna
Ride the fence
Now do you really wanna
Ride the fence?
Why would you really wanna
Ride the fence
Don't ride the fence
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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
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Be aware of the world around you and don't be afraid to represent your beliefs