"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.
You've got a famous last name
But you're not to blame
Baby, I see you for who you are
A one-time apple queen
And a one-time tramp
And an old-time movie star
You're a shell picker of the pickiest kind
But you always find the ones to keep
And in or out of bed
You keep your head wide open
'Cause you don't only dream when you're asleep
Like a child, you remember
But I forget all my dreams
I used to think that someday I'd relax a little
And be more like you
Then I realized how silly that thought was
I needed to stand in my own shoes
And from over here, I can see you cry
Don't even try to pretend
'Cause he's hurt you so many times
Baby, don't go back again
Like a child, you forget
But I remember everything and every sting
And through all the games we'll both stay the same
As we've always been through the fat and the thin
Until the end
Until the end, oh
But you're not to blame
Baby, I see you for who you are
A one-time apple queen
And a one-time tramp
And an old-time movie star
You're a shell picker of the pickiest kind
But you always find the ones to keep
And in or out of bed
You keep your head wide open
'Cause you don't only dream when you're asleep
Like a child, you remember
But I forget all my dreams
I used to think that someday I'd relax a little
And be more like you
Then I realized how silly that thought was
I needed to stand in my own shoes
And from over here, I can see you cry
Don't even try to pretend
'Cause he's hurt you so many times
Baby, don't go back again
Like a child, you forget
But I remember everything and every sting
And through all the games we'll both stay the same
As we've always been through the fat and the thin
Until the end
Until the end, oh
Lyrics submitted by softasfire
Until The End Lyrics as written by Lee Alexander Norah Jones
Lyrics © O/B/O DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
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This sounds like it could be about a significant other but I'm pretty sure it's about her mother or her father, although I'm thinking her mother. It's basically about sticking together through times of need and just confirming that although they are famous and their last names make them iconic, they are still people, still family, and will always be until the end.
yeah, i think it's about her mom too. it seems like it could be about her mom getting hurt by some man who she keeps going back to.
or maybe just a friend who keeps going back to the same person.
It's most def about her mum. The "one time tramp" is referring to the relationship she had with her father (who at the time was married to another). Also, I think the "like a child you forgot" is in reference to the fact that her famous dad didn't really claim her until she was famous and how she doesn't really forgive him.
Well, outside of Norah's real life context, I interpreted this song as a friend singing to a friend. A sort of "we've always been different but we're together until the end" sort of message. And of course, your friend is the one that tells you not to go back to the one who hurts you just because you love him.