"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.
Tiny heart
Stuck inside yourself
When will you open up for me
I love you so
And want to meet you again
Before one of us must go
Your lips touched every hand but mine
In their shadows you slept fine
When will you get back to me
So we can rest
Tiny heart
You're not by yourself
When will you recognize the beat
Of my own heart
Making your blood flow
So that your chest can rise and fall
Your lips touched every hand but mine
In their shadows you slept fine
When will you get back to me
So we can rest
You will never know
What you have done to me
You will never know
Losing love from me
You will never know
A single day alone
Tiny heart
Stuck inside yourself
When will you open up
Your lips touched every hand but mine
In their shadows you slept fine
When will you get back to me
So we can rest
When you choose me
I'm waiting for you
Always waiting
Stuck inside yourself
When will you open up for me
I love you so
And want to meet you again
Before one of us must go
Your lips touched every hand but mine
In their shadows you slept fine
When will you get back to me
So we can rest
Tiny heart
You're not by yourself
When will you recognize the beat
Of my own heart
Making your blood flow
So that your chest can rise and fall
Your lips touched every hand but mine
In their shadows you slept fine
When will you get back to me
So we can rest
You will never know
What you have done to me
You will never know
Losing love from me
You will never know
A single day alone
Tiny heart
Stuck inside yourself
When will you open up
Your lips touched every hand but mine
In their shadows you slept fine
When will you get back to me
So we can rest
When you choose me
I'm waiting for you
Always waiting
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
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
I personally see this song being about a baby that is being given up for adoption, but the mother is reluctant. In saying that "your lips touched every hand but mine" she's saying she never got to hold her baby after it was born.
"You will never know what you've done to me" insinuates a closed adoption so she can't meet the baby after it's been given to its new parents.
"I love you so/I want to meet you again/before one of us must go" also supports this idea that she only saw the baby as it came from her. When it's said "you are not alone" it means two things, the first is that the baby is with new, caring parents that can care for it and, second, she also feels the pain of giving up her baby, so it shouldn't feel like it was unwanted.
"In their shadows you slept fine/when will you get back to me/so we can rest" develops the idea of the mother's need for her baby to know it was adopted and want to find her. She wants to meet her baby again so they can be somewhat of a family, aside from the baby's adopted family.
Lastly, the last verse. "When will you choose me/I'm waiting for you/always waiting" further exemplifies the birth mothers need for closure and love from her child. This is her way of saying that she will always wait for her baby to find out he or she was adopted and come to find her.
Obviously this has nothing to do with God. Not to say the song doesn't at all, but my explanation is from the point of view of a person that doesn't have religious views. Yes, Flyleaf is a religious band, but that does NOT mean every song is about Jesus. This is MY interpretation of the song and its lyrics. You don't have to agree, but there's no need to bash and harass. Have a nice day. =]
--RAWR, love rex.
sry,, only shnazy has it right. the question is 'what is the song about' not 'what are all the possible ways it can be interpreted'. <br /> <br /> If u think about the band, that is the most likely influence for the song, & the only one that makes complete vs. partial sense. <br /> <br /> and the rejection from a guy thing is tacky, --- in that context, the lyrics dont show love, but desperation and unwarranted devotion, which the band does not seem to support. but i see how easy it is to get that idea, especially the friendship one<br /> <br /> and flyleaf IS a CHRISTIAN band!!! fed up of ppl sayin their not. In the industry, its more marketable to not 'label' yourself, and you also dont want to alienate followers who reject christ, when they can still take away good messages in the songs... <br /> <br /> even when they sing about life issues, because they are christians, their views represent looking @ stuff from a christian perspective (yes, even when she sings about relationships)so the songs' focal point doesnt have to be 'bout god' but u can see how their fear of god influences their thought and emotions...<br /> <br /> they've never sung about themes glorifying ungodly things,,, go figure<br />
I don't like the response above to what meaning you took from the song... I cannot believe that on a website called "SongMeanings" someone would say that this website is about "what the song is LITERALLY about according to the artist"... then really this website should be set up like Wikipedia so only when the SongMeaning is found out, then it be added onto the page. Otherwise, why have it open to comments? All people interpret things differently. Meaning is subjective and this website is about how the song can be interpreted because that suffices meaning. If you want the artist's meaning, then you'll have to go ask them, track them down or find where they have posted it or written it... although some artists won't even say or tell the meaning of a song because they want it to hold different meaning to each person who hears it and have them interpret it how they do.<br /> <br /> Also, why are so many obsessed with defining Flyleaf? Why does it matter so much if Flyleaf is a Christian band or not? Anyone can love these songs when they are open to interpretation. What defines a "Christian Band" anyway? There are a lot of artists and singers out there who are in fact Christian but do not label themselves that way. I do not think it is only for "marketing". That denotes something sinister to me. Of course, what they believe influences their songs, how can it not? All we are and what we believe touches everything we do.