"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.
Boys, grab your guns
It's all in good fun
We're making 'em run
We're making 'em run
Your name is devastation
You filled us with frustration
You could have fooled anyone
We handed up the lucky ones
And so you stood us up
And you let us down
Now you're backing off
So we're running away
I think your brain got lost in the airwaves
Boys, grab your guns
It's all in good fun
We're making 'em run
Making 'em run
Why should I feel bad?
I'm the one
With the gun in my hands
In my hands
Why are you so scared
Of running from the takers?
Why were you so afraid
Of staying in the same place?
So you stood us up
And you let us down
Now you're backing off
You've got nothing to say
I think your brain got lost in the airwaves
Boys, grab your guns
It's all in good fun
We're making 'em run
Making 'em run
Why should I feel bad?
I'm the one
With the gun in my hands
I think it's time
We've said goodbye
Wastin' all of our time
Wastin' our time
Why should you feel bad?
You're the one
With nothing on the line
It's such a shame
How you were so afraid
Of losing it all, losing it all
It's such a shame
(It's such a shame)
How it all went down this way
Oh thank God
Tomorrow's a new day
Boys, grab your guns
It's all in good fun
We're making 'em run
Making 'em run
Why should I feel bad?
I'm the one with the gun in my hands
Boys, grab you guns
It's all in good fun
We're making 'em run
Making 'em run
Why should I feel bad?
I'm the one with the gun in my hands.
(In my hands)
I think it's time
We said goodbye
You're wasting all our time
Wasting our time
Why should you feel bad?
You're the one with nothing on the line
It's all in good fun
We're making 'em run
We're making 'em run
Your name is devastation
You filled us with frustration
You could have fooled anyone
We handed up the lucky ones
And so you stood us up
And you let us down
Now you're backing off
So we're running away
I think your brain got lost in the airwaves
Boys, grab your guns
It's all in good fun
We're making 'em run
Making 'em run
Why should I feel bad?
I'm the one
With the gun in my hands
In my hands
Why are you so scared
Of running from the takers?
Why were you so afraid
Of staying in the same place?
So you stood us up
And you let us down
Now you're backing off
You've got nothing to say
I think your brain got lost in the airwaves
Boys, grab your guns
It's all in good fun
We're making 'em run
Making 'em run
Why should I feel bad?
I'm the one
With the gun in my hands
I think it's time
We've said goodbye
Wastin' all of our time
Wastin' our time
Why should you feel bad?
You're the one
With nothing on the line
It's such a shame
How you were so afraid
Of losing it all, losing it all
It's such a shame
(It's such a shame)
How it all went down this way
Oh thank God
Tomorrow's a new day
Boys, grab your guns
It's all in good fun
We're making 'em run
Making 'em run
Why should I feel bad?
I'm the one with the gun in my hands
Boys, grab you guns
It's all in good fun
We're making 'em run
Making 'em run
Why should I feel bad?
I'm the one with the gun in my hands.
(In my hands)
I think it's time
We said goodbye
You're wasting all our time
Wasting our time
Why should you feel bad?
You're the one with nothing on the line
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
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."
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.
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.
It's catchy. I love it.