"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.
I crawled out of my window,
Stepped into the backyard.
It's not nuclear fission,
But it's still pretty hard.
Outer space has a way of making me want to believe.
But just think rationally
We are pretty much the same.
If someone steps into my room
They could mistake me for dead.
A triangular phenomenon
Hangs overall our heads.
Outer space has a way of making me want to believe.
But just think rationally.
Earth is pretty much the same.
(oh yeah)
They got a plan
To put a cover on the sky and start all over again.
I think therefore I am
Paranoid (paranoid)
Can you see it in the sky?
I saw the ships of fire.
Can you see it in the sky?
Off the coast of Orion.
Can you see it in the sky?
I saw the ships of fire.
I don't know if
We can wait
This is a celebration
For the end or
The beginning.
In a way,
Outer space is making me want to believe.
But just think rationally,
You're still pretty much the same.
(oh yeah)
They got a plan
To put a cover on the sky and start all over again.
I think therefore I am
Paranoid (paranoid).
Stepped into the backyard.
It's not nuclear fission,
But it's still pretty hard.
Outer space has a way of making me want to believe.
But just think rationally
We are pretty much the same.
If someone steps into my room
They could mistake me for dead.
A triangular phenomenon
Hangs overall our heads.
Outer space has a way of making me want to believe.
But just think rationally.
Earth is pretty much the same.
(oh yeah)
They got a plan
To put a cover on the sky and start all over again.
I think therefore I am
Paranoid (paranoid)
Can you see it in the sky?
I saw the ships of fire.
Can you see it in the sky?
Off the coast of Orion.
Can you see it in the sky?
I saw the ships of fire.
I don't know if
We can wait
This is a celebration
For the end or
The beginning.
In a way,
Outer space is making me want to believe.
But just think rationally,
You're still pretty much the same.
(oh yeah)
They got a plan
To put a cover on the sky and start all over again.
I think therefore I am
Paranoid (paranoid).
Lyrics submitted by I N F E R N O
Roswell That Ends Well Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.