"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.
One little, two little, three little indie rap
Headphones, backpack, watch 'em all
It goes watch out!
Jack the Ripper, Jack Jack the Ripper
Peace to Jack tripper and those Wellstone bumper stickers
My name is Sean and I never had dreadlocks
Instead I got an army full of women screaming Headshots!
I guess that explains it, don't it
She started to make a mark but it came apart
That's what you get for tryin' to make your little sister eat the kitty litter
Let's watch a rapper get bitter like the city winter
What the fuck you thinkin'!?
You frustrated or something? Did you have a bad week?
Man, you got issues, I feel sorry for you
Yo, shitting on me is so 2002 (Bitch!)
Turn your mic off, and turn the lights off
Whoever put your record out must have needed write-offs
Who they play when the game's in a tight spot?
Slug, you can find me in the A's of your iPod
Watch out!
When the crowd gets loud
It could burn up the roof or make the walls all fall down
Watch out!
When you open up your mouth
I can smell that you don't know what you're talking about
(It goes) Watch out!
We all love a clown
But we don't wanna se you climb up out the underground
Watch out!
If you don't like the sound
Fuck you! I'm just tryin' to put it down for my home town
Cars drive by with the booming system
I must be getting old cause the bass sounds ridiculous
And nowadays, every body's biting Tupac
So fuck it, I'ma stand over here and do the moonwalk
Besides police, I've got no beef
Just me, my beliefs and my bad teeth
A cargo van and some Ant beets
Enough rap to slap you to last week
Caught between the vice and the advice
Drunk, walking out in traffic just to fly kites
Time out, the free-style rhyme out, my last rights
Fuck a classic album, give my life 5 mics
And when the smoke clears, you won't be able to suck dick
Like you did as a teenage slut trick
And with a mat on his grill, he asks "Who the fuck are you?"
Don't worry man, someday I'ma be nobody too
Watch out!
When the crowd gets loud
It could burn up the roof or make the walls all fall down
Watch out!
When you open up your mouth
I can smell that you don't know what you're talking about
(It goes) Watch out!
We all love a clown
But we don't wanna se you climb up out the underground
Watch out!
If you don't like the sound
Fuck you! I'm just tryin' to put it down for my home town
Look, I understand your hate
When I was younger, I wanted to be LL Cool J
Then he started making records for the girls and shit
So I ripped up the Kangol and threw it away
I stole moves from KRS-One
A little Big Daddy Cane and some DJ Run
And then we took our life and made it a song
And look, nowadays Rhymesayers is on
It's the be -I-G D-A double D-why S-E-A-N
He hasn't hit the rooftop to jump, guess he waitin'?
For what? I don't know, but who wanna come with me?
I got at least one more tool with me
So criticize me, or idolize me
Study from a distance or stand right beside me
It don't matter, just act like I know
And watch your back on the beat
Or get sacked at the free-throw
Watch out!
When the crowd gets loud
It could burn up the roof or make the walls all fall down
Watch out!
When you open up your mouth
I can smell that you don't know what you're talking about
(It goes) Watch out!
We all love a clown
But we don't wanna se you climb up out the underground
Watch out!
If you don't like the sound
Fuck you! I'm just tryin' to put it down for my home town
Headphones, backpack, watch 'em all
It goes watch out!
Jack the Ripper, Jack Jack the Ripper
Peace to Jack tripper and those Wellstone bumper stickers
My name is Sean and I never had dreadlocks
Instead I got an army full of women screaming Headshots!
I guess that explains it, don't it
She started to make a mark but it came apart
That's what you get for tryin' to make your little sister eat the kitty litter
Let's watch a rapper get bitter like the city winter
What the fuck you thinkin'!?
You frustrated or something? Did you have a bad week?
Man, you got issues, I feel sorry for you
Yo, shitting on me is so 2002 (Bitch!)
Turn your mic off, and turn the lights off
Whoever put your record out must have needed write-offs
Who they play when the game's in a tight spot?
Slug, you can find me in the A's of your iPod
Watch out!
When the crowd gets loud
It could burn up the roof or make the walls all fall down
Watch out!
When you open up your mouth
I can smell that you don't know what you're talking about
(It goes) Watch out!
We all love a clown
But we don't wanna se you climb up out the underground
Watch out!
If you don't like the sound
Fuck you! I'm just tryin' to put it down for my home town
Cars drive by with the booming system
I must be getting old cause the bass sounds ridiculous
And nowadays, every body's biting Tupac
So fuck it, I'ma stand over here and do the moonwalk
Besides police, I've got no beef
Just me, my beliefs and my bad teeth
A cargo van and some Ant beets
Enough rap to slap you to last week
Caught between the vice and the advice
Drunk, walking out in traffic just to fly kites
Time out, the free-style rhyme out, my last rights
Fuck a classic album, give my life 5 mics
And when the smoke clears, you won't be able to suck dick
Like you did as a teenage slut trick
And with a mat on his grill, he asks "Who the fuck are you?"
Don't worry man, someday I'ma be nobody too
Watch out!
When the crowd gets loud
It could burn up the roof or make the walls all fall down
Watch out!
When you open up your mouth
I can smell that you don't know what you're talking about
(It goes) Watch out!
We all love a clown
But we don't wanna se you climb up out the underground
Watch out!
If you don't like the sound
Fuck you! I'm just tryin' to put it down for my home town
Look, I understand your hate
When I was younger, I wanted to be LL Cool J
Then he started making records for the girls and shit
So I ripped up the Kangol and threw it away
I stole moves from KRS-One
A little Big Daddy Cane and some DJ Run
And then we took our life and made it a song
And look, nowadays Rhymesayers is on
It's the be -I-G D-A double D-why S-E-A-N
He hasn't hit the rooftop to jump, guess he waitin'?
For what? I don't know, but who wanna come with me?
I got at least one more tool with me
So criticize me, or idolize me
Study from a distance or stand right beside me
It don't matter, just act like I know
And watch your back on the beat
Or get sacked at the free-throw
Watch out!
When the crowd gets loud
It could burn up the roof or make the walls all fall down
Watch out!
When you open up your mouth
I can smell that you don't know what you're talking about
(It goes) Watch out!
We all love a clown
But we don't wanna se you climb up out the underground
Watch out!
If you don't like the sound
Fuck you! I'm just tryin' to put it down for my home town
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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.
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.
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.
oh DAMN! best dis-rap i've ever heard.
Atmosphere (particularly Slug, not so much Ant, whose beats are always fresh) has let me down a lot in the last few years. Still, this is a pretty hot track. Slug clearly see's himself as a vet.