"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.
Corazon
By the school, on the street
You were dropped of with a sign
"This piano is free"
You didn't look free to me
Cast aside, obsolete
Since they canceled music class
You'd been a refugee
But now I'll give you a home
Corazon
So I pushed and I heaved
But your weight bore down like I could not believe
Had you accepted defeat?
Till the crowd gathered round put away their goings on
And hunkered down and they were cheering you on, Corazon
Corazon
And the expert, with his tools
Said "to bring it up to patch"
We'd snap the sucker in two
I guess we're tuning to you
So I pulled up a seat and
I swear I felt a pulse beneath your keys
To urge your hammers along
Corazon
I was caught, I was stuck
And my thoughts couldn't bind and deepening the rut
Until your first chord struck
Now I search on my shore
But my God you've given another chance to love
And now I'll give you a home
Corazon
By the school, on the street
You were dropped of with a sign
"This piano is free"
You didn't look free to me
Cast aside, obsolete
Since they canceled music class
You'd been a refugee
But now I'll give you a home
Corazon
So I pushed and I heaved
But your weight bore down like I could not believe
Had you accepted defeat?
Till the crowd gathered round put away their goings on
And hunkered down and they were cheering you on, Corazon
Corazon
And the expert, with his tools
Said "to bring it up to patch"
We'd snap the sucker in two
I guess we're tuning to you
So I pulled up a seat and
I swear I felt a pulse beneath your keys
To urge your hammers along
Corazon
I was caught, I was stuck
And my thoughts couldn't bind and deepening the rut
Until your first chord struck
Now I search on my shore
But my God you've given another chance to love
And now I'll give you a home
Corazon
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
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,
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
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.
While it may literally refer to a piano, I think it's a good metaphor for people in general, and accepting someone for who they are, faults and all, and not trying to "fix them" to fit your image of how they should be.
"and the expert with his tools said to bring it up to pitch would snap the sucker in two I guess we're tuning to you"
I buy these meanings, but nobody thinks any of it relates to 'corazon,' which means 'heart' in Spanish?
You must be right. "I swear I felt a pulse beneath your keys" is a pretty clear heart metaphor. "Until your first chord struck" is another one.
This song is about a piano the band found that was just being thrown away outside of their practice space in Brooklyn. An artistic rendering of it is on the cover of their January EP. The Piano was basically already destroyed and would break if it was properly tuned because it was in that bad of shape, but apparently really helped in the writing of their songs for their EP a month project in 2006.
it's a very pretty song. Very endearing...they're great, why haven't they been given a bigger hype like Arcade Fire or such?
I love the way the singer sings "Corazon". Yeah.
I love the way the singer sings "Corazon". Yeah.
i love you bishop allen. and i love the picture of the corazon piano.
Like how old is this song I have never heard of it or the artist. do i just live a sheltered life or what?!?
its a clever song cause if you pay atention to the lyrics or hear it more than once or twice then youll obviously tell its about a piano he found but im thinking that its really telling you that you can find a peice of shit and turn it into something beautiful such as this piano being a peice of shit... but then making a beautiful song out of it
I think the part where they say "I was caught, I was stuck And my thoughts couldn't bind and deepening the rut Until your first chord struck" Is about them having song writers block. Love it.