"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.
Smell the stench of the human flesh
See the bodies so rotten
The broken arms and the broken legs
No chance to get away from them
A lonely girl standing in the dust
Her eyes are cold and blind
The world is dead, there is no hope
We must never be born
The end of mankind has finally arrived
The voices of death will sing to us all
We have seen the signs in the sky
Yet nothing new has ever been born
We are the ones who will pay in the end
For the crimes and mistakes we made
We don't see it's already too late
It is too late to regret
Stop the game and lay down to the grave
No glory for the weak
Close the door and never open
No hope for the weak
Stop the game and lay down to the grave
No glory for the weak
Close the door and never open
No hope for the weak
You want to dominate and rule this world
But there's nothing for you to rule to
Can't you see, your power is too weak
You are too weak, you are too weak to see
That the game we all are attending
Is so close to it's end now finally
There's only one turn left, but still
We are the ones, we are the ones who will lose
Smell the stench of the human flesh
See the bodies so rotten
The broken arms and the broken legs
No chance to get away from them
A lonely girl standing in the dust
Her eyes are cold and blind
The world is dead, there is no hope
We must never be born
The end of mankind has finally arrived
The voices of death will sing to us all
We have seen the signs in the sky
Yet nothing new has ever been born
We are the ones who will pay in the end
For the crimes and mistakes we made
We don't see it's already too late
It is too late to regret
See the bodies so rotten
The broken arms and the broken legs
No chance to get away from them
A lonely girl standing in the dust
Her eyes are cold and blind
The world is dead, there is no hope
We must never be born
The end of mankind has finally arrived
The voices of death will sing to us all
We have seen the signs in the sky
Yet nothing new has ever been born
We are the ones who will pay in the end
For the crimes and mistakes we made
We don't see it's already too late
It is too late to regret
Stop the game and lay down to the grave
No glory for the weak
Close the door and never open
No hope for the weak
Stop the game and lay down to the grave
No glory for the weak
Close the door and never open
No hope for the weak
You want to dominate and rule this world
But there's nothing for you to rule to
Can't you see, your power is too weak
You are too weak, you are too weak to see
That the game we all are attending
Is so close to it's end now finally
There's only one turn left, but still
We are the ones, we are the ones who will lose
Smell the stench of the human flesh
See the bodies so rotten
The broken arms and the broken legs
No chance to get away from them
A lonely girl standing in the dust
Her eyes are cold and blind
The world is dead, there is no hope
We must never be born
The end of mankind has finally arrived
The voices of death will sing to us all
We have seen the signs in the sky
Yet nothing new has ever been born
We are the ones who will pay in the end
For the crimes and mistakes we made
We don't see it's already too late
It is too late to regret
Lyrics submitted by fordyville
The Unborn Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
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.
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,
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Great song, great lyrics , and yea we are the ones who will lose ..