"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.
This following program is dedicated to the city
And people of San Francisco
Who may not know it but they are beautiful
And so is their city
This is a very personal song
So if the viewer cannot understand it
Particularly those of you who are European residents
Save up all your bread
And fly Trans-Love airways to San Francisco U.S.A.
Then maybe you'll understand the song
It will be worth it
If not for the sake of this song
But for the sake of your own peace of mind
Strobe lights beam creates dreams
Walls move, minds do too
On a warm San Franciscan night
Old child, young child, feel alright
On a warm San Franciscan night
Angels sing leather wings
Jeans of blue Harley Davidsons too
On a warm San Franciscan night
Old angel, young angel, feel alright
On a warm San Franciscan night
I wasn't born there
Perhaps I'll die there
There's no place left to go
San Francisco
Cop's face is filled with hate
Heavens above, he's on a street called love
When will they ever learn?
Old cop, young cop, feel alright
On a warm San Franciscan night
The children are cool
They don't raise fools
It's an american dream
Includes Indians too
And people of San Francisco
Who may not know it but they are beautiful
And so is their city
This is a very personal song
So if the viewer cannot understand it
Particularly those of you who are European residents
Save up all your bread
And fly Trans-Love airways to San Francisco U.S.A.
Then maybe you'll understand the song
It will be worth it
If not for the sake of this song
But for the sake of your own peace of mind
Strobe lights beam creates dreams
Walls move, minds do too
On a warm San Franciscan night
Old child, young child, feel alright
On a warm San Franciscan night
Angels sing leather wings
Jeans of blue Harley Davidsons too
On a warm San Franciscan night
Old angel, young angel, feel alright
On a warm San Franciscan night
I wasn't born there
Perhaps I'll die there
There's no place left to go
San Francisco
Cop's face is filled with hate
Heavens above, he's on a street called love
When will they ever learn?
Old cop, young cop, feel alright
On a warm San Franciscan night
The children are cool
They don't raise fools
It's an american dream
Includes Indians too
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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”
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
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.
Tne all time greatest hippie tribute song. (Okay one of about twemty). Tells about the mood, the scene, the laid back attitude, the troubles. Very under played on the oldies air waves.
Does "Angels sing....Harley Davidson's too" refer to Hells Angels?
I'm told that a lot of hippies heard this song and migrated to San Francisco under the impression that the nights there are warm. In truth, the city is perpetually covered in fog, and according to the old saying attributed (incorrectly) to Mark Twain, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."
San Francisco has mostly fair weather. It's not too cold there, but not too hot either.