"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.
Tell me how to feel
Show me what is real
I tried to back away but every where’s the same and in this over conscious world all I want to do is dream
I don’t know what you held onto to get this far, but I need some too
Because I’m slipping from existence and there’s just no resistance to stop this all from happening
Today the pain, it got so bad, I had to scream
I’m cutting myself because I cannot face the world around me, that’s nothing
I’m cutting myself because there’s no way out
Dispersing what I feel so I feel nothing
I don’t know what to do to be as numb as you
I must be doing something wrong to always feel this down
With an overwhelming urge to shut out those around
I tried to reach out to the past
The lesson learned is to not look back
The memories will just confuse an overwhelmed and frightened youth
I’ve learned to accept it
I know that that’s pathetic
I can’t explain to others
I know that they’ll reject it
Show me what is real
I tried to back away but every where’s the same and in this over conscious world all I want to do is dream
I don’t know what you held onto to get this far, but I need some too
Because I’m slipping from existence and there’s just no resistance to stop this all from happening
Today the pain, it got so bad, I had to scream
I’m cutting myself because I cannot face the world around me, that’s nothing
I’m cutting myself because there’s no way out
Dispersing what I feel so I feel nothing
I don’t know what to do to be as numb as you
I must be doing something wrong to always feel this down
With an overwhelming urge to shut out those around
I tried to reach out to the past
The lesson learned is to not look back
The memories will just confuse an overwhelmed and frightened youth
I’ve learned to accept it
I know that that’s pathetic
I can’t explain to others
I know that they’ll reject it
Lyrics submitted by hannahheartattack
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Pretty straightforward meaning but still comment-worthy. "The memories will just confuse an overwhelmed and frightened youth" is a very interesting line...
I agree, this line is very interesting. I have a feeling she means the "memories" are the ones that she had when she was a young child. They are so horrible when they come back to her that she feels like her child self, overwhelmed, frightened, and confused. Which is why she's cutting the painful mermories away.
In an interview she said the song is looking back at how she felt when she was a self-harming teenager. She no longer self-harms. :)
its kinda weird. i love the lyrics but its kinda like a techno beat/feel. its just odd to me. good song though lol