"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.
Well they say I should approach you with caution
But not to let you be aware of my fear
Never know what you'll find
Don't understand your kind
Round here
Oh, oh
Watching your moves they look so radical
Hearing your words they sound fanatical
Something inside reveals you're magical
Oh, oh
How can I get enough?
You're a strange animal
That's what I know
But you're a strange animal
I got to follow
Whoa, oh
They been trying to stick a line in your system
Analyzing the defenses you hold
Trying to open wide
Hoping to step inside
Your soul
Oh, oh
But everything here is unfamiliar
Nothing you've seen remotely similar
How can it be you're so peculiar
Oh, oh
How can I get enough?
You're a strange animal
That's what I know
But you're a strange animal
I got to follow
Whoa, oh
I got to follow
I got to follow
Ah ah ah ah ah
Oh, oh oh oh
Ah ah ah ah ah
Oh, oh oh oh
Ah ah ah ah ah
How can I get enough?
You're a strange animal
That's what I know
But you're a strange animal
I got to follow
O ominus spiritus
Whoa, oh
Oh, you're a strange animal
That's what I know
But you're a strange animal
I got to follow
Whoa, oh
You're a strange animal
That's what I know
But you're a strange animal
I got to follow
O ominus spiritus
Oh, you're a strange animal
That's what I know
But you're a strange animal
I got to follow
Whoa, oh
Oh, oh
But not to let you be aware of my fear
Never know what you'll find
Don't understand your kind
Round here
Oh, oh
Watching your moves they look so radical
Hearing your words they sound fanatical
Something inside reveals you're magical
Oh, oh
How can I get enough?
You're a strange animal
That's what I know
But you're a strange animal
I got to follow
Whoa, oh
They been trying to stick a line in your system
Analyzing the defenses you hold
Trying to open wide
Hoping to step inside
Your soul
Oh, oh
But everything here is unfamiliar
Nothing you've seen remotely similar
How can it be you're so peculiar
Oh, oh
How can I get enough?
You're a strange animal
That's what I know
But you're a strange animal
I got to follow
Whoa, oh
I got to follow
I got to follow
Ah ah ah ah ah
Oh, oh oh oh
Ah ah ah ah ah
Oh, oh oh oh
Ah ah ah ah ah
How can I get enough?
You're a strange animal
That's what I know
But you're a strange animal
I got to follow
O ominus spiritus
Whoa, oh
Oh, you're a strange animal
That's what I know
But you're a strange animal
I got to follow
Whoa, oh
You're a strange animal
That's what I know
But you're a strange animal
I got to follow
O ominus spiritus
Oh, you're a strange animal
That's what I know
But you're a strange animal
I got to follow
Whoa, oh
Oh, oh
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
This's actually my favorite song, identify well with it.
The VIDEO to the song by Gowan is kind of... yeah... it interprets it as "man" as in humankind, being strange in a way.
I never cared much for it myself in that interpretation and try to pretend the video doesn't exist.
For my personal preferred way of thinking of it is this:
The concept is to run across someone unique and special, they may be a love interest or may not, it's not really required in the context of the song. Someone who just stands out as being out of the norm, and in a good way.
Clarisse McClellan from Fahrenheit 451, for example, would be a perfect example. That one individual to whom the term "I'm not insane, the world is!" actually applies truthfully.
Yes, people are scared of that which is different of them. Be cautious around anything new, or potentially exciting, as it could also be dangerous. Every once in awhile though, someone who's on the edge, who COULD have been that one, comes out to the foreground and recognizes genius when they see it. When everyone else shys away in fear, there's always one who just has to understand the chaos, make sense of it all, to break the enigma of this radical element who enters their life.
If yeu go with the mentality on say... the book 'Anthem' by Ayn Rand, also seen in the song '2112' by Rush, though that's actually a tribute to anthem, but the point's still there... then yeu get the concept of some larger 'them' or 'they', whoever the nameless faces in charge are, be they corporate drones, scientists or whotever, they seek to understand this mysterious person who exists outside the monotonous grey boundries set before them. The childlike enthusiasm can't be quantified, nor understood, and leaves them without the ability to truly understand.
Regardless, the one person who was looking at them with actual interest, still doesn't get them either, but is still captivated regardless.
The theme's carried out in multiple books and movies, and other forms of media; check for two characters; 1 shunned for their non-conformist attitude, and 1 who revels in their bizzare approach to life... the first one I can think of off the top of my head is V is for Vengeance which's perfectly fitting.
It's a common theme, and a good one at that. The question now, becomes 'are yeu the non-conformist, the observer, the fearful masses, or the corporate drone?'.
In case it wasn't clear enough, the song's sung from the perspective of the observer, in reference to the non-conformist, while noting the reactions of the other two upon them.