"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'm diggin' with my fingertips
I'm ripping at the ground I stand upon
I'm searchin' for fragile bones
(Evolution)
I'm never gonna be refined
Keep tryin' but I won't assimilate
Sure, we have come far in time
(Watch the bow break)
And I'm sorry I don't believe
By the evidence that I see
That there's any hope left for me
It's evolution...
Just evolution...
And I
I do not dare deny
The basic beast inside
It's right here, it's controlling my mind
And why
Do I deserve to die?
I'm dominated by
This animal that's locked up inside
Close up to get a real good view
I'm betting that the species will survive
Hold tight, I'm getting inside you
(Evolution)
And when we're gonna find these bones
They're gonna wanna keep them in a jar
The number one virus caused by
(Procreation)
And the planet may go astray
In a million years they'll say,
those motherfuckers were all deranged
It's evolution...
Just evolution...
And I
I do not dare deny
The basic beast inside
It's right here, it's controlling my mind
And why
Do I deserve to die?
I'm dominated by
This animal that's locked up inside
Take a look around
Nothing much has changed
Take a look around
Nothing much has changed
Take a look around
Take a look around
Take a look around
(Nothing much has changed)
Take a look around
Take a look around
(Nothing much has changed)
Take a look around
Take a look around
(Nothing much has changed)
Take a look around
I
I do not dare deny
The basic beast inside
It's right here, it's controlling my mind
And why
Do I deserve to die?
I'm dominated by
This animal that's locked up inside
Why
Why do I deserve to die?
I'm ripping at the ground I stand upon
I'm searchin' for fragile bones
(Evolution)
I'm never gonna be refined
Keep tryin' but I won't assimilate
Sure, we have come far in time
(Watch the bow break)
And I'm sorry I don't believe
By the evidence that I see
That there's any hope left for me
It's evolution...
Just evolution...
And I
I do not dare deny
The basic beast inside
It's right here, it's controlling my mind
And why
Do I deserve to die?
I'm dominated by
This animal that's locked up inside
Close up to get a real good view
I'm betting that the species will survive
Hold tight, I'm getting inside you
(Evolution)
And when we're gonna find these bones
They're gonna wanna keep them in a jar
The number one virus caused by
(Procreation)
And the planet may go astray
In a million years they'll say,
those motherfuckers were all deranged
It's evolution...
Just evolution...
And I
I do not dare deny
The basic beast inside
It's right here, it's controlling my mind
And why
Do I deserve to die?
I'm dominated by
This animal that's locked up inside
Take a look around
Nothing much has changed
Take a look around
Nothing much has changed
Take a look around
Take a look around
Take a look around
(Nothing much has changed)
Take a look around
Take a look around
(Nothing much has changed)
Take a look around
Take a look around
(Nothing much has changed)
Take a look around
I
I do not dare deny
The basic beast inside
It's right here, it's controlling my mind
And why
Do I deserve to die?
I'm dominated by
This animal that's locked up inside
Why
Why do I deserve to die?
Lyrics submitted by NoOnesThere, edited by alex109868
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
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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.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
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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.
I believe it is "watch the bow break" as in bow on a ship not "watch the ground break"