"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.
The stars and a moon
Aren't where they're supposed to be
For the strange electric light
It falls so close to me
Love, I come to ride
High on that seasick rolling wave
And you know that I am
Just trying to get out
Oh the glorious sound
Oh the one way street
But you can't get
Can't get it down without crying
When I'm dressed in white
Send roses to me
I drink so much sour whiskey I can't hardly see
And everywhere I've been
There's a well that howls my name
From the one tiny sting
To that vacant fame
Oh the deafening roar
Remember that's called a one way street
And you can't get
Can't get it down without crying
Mystery's a sigh
You can't get out
In a psychotropic light, you can't get out
Love, I come to ride
High on that seasick rolling wave
That's the way that I fall, trying to get out
Oh the glorious sound
Of the one way street
And you can't get
Can't get it down without crying
Oh the deafening roar
It's called a one way street
Aren't where they're supposed to be
For the strange electric light
It falls so close to me
Love, I come to ride
High on that seasick rolling wave
And you know that I am
Just trying to get out
Oh the glorious sound
Oh the one way street
But you can't get
Can't get it down without crying
When I'm dressed in white
Send roses to me
I drink so much sour whiskey I can't hardly see
And everywhere I've been
There's a well that howls my name
From the one tiny sting
To that vacant fame
Oh the deafening roar
Remember that's called a one way street
And you can't get
Can't get it down without crying
Mystery's a sigh
You can't get out
In a psychotropic light, you can't get out
Love, I come to ride
High on that seasick rolling wave
That's the way that I fall, trying to get out
Oh the glorious sound
Of the one way street
And you can't get
Can't get it down without crying
Oh the deafening roar
It's called a one way street
Lyrics submitted by quarantined
One Way Street Lyrics as written by Mark Lanegan
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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@[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.
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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.
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I take this to be about trying to live a better life but finding destructive habits impossible to let go of. I think the 'glorious sound of the one way street' is a reference to how easy it is to give in to temptation but how that route leads only to downfall.
This line confuses me though:
"Can't get it down without crying"
but I kind of like lines like that, which don't bother to explain too much.
I agree with Esmeralda.
"Can't get it down without cryin" - i take this to mean you can't really go through life without shedding a tear for something/someone.
Hey everyone! Maybe the thing I write will be insane,yet I daresay this song is about the whole lifetime.And during the lifetime some periods go so utterly wrong, that "The stars and the moon aren't where they're supposed to be".It can be absolutely everything-drug addiction , breakup with your beloved person,some kind of accident, and you Can't get it down without crying in order to forget it.And it goes only in one way-there's no recipe how to return all that happened and it won't be invented at all.
"Oh the glorious sound Oh the one way street", and then-
"Oh the deafening roar Remember that's called a one way street- I believe that's about thiongs that seemed to be all right to the person until he\she realizes that it's not quite cool,yet you can't turn around and leave whenever you want,'cause there's no turning sideways or back on One Way Street called Life....
"From that one tiny sting / To that vacant flame"
That reminds me of shooting heroin. A "tiny sting" that leads to a "vacant flame": it feels powerful and even exciting, or at least it brings you peace, but it doesn't really mean anything, it's doing you harm.
The "Everywhere I've been..." line is so haunting.
As some people have already said, I agree that this song about temptations and self destructive habits. I'm pretty sure I can explain the line '"Cant get it down without crying" I see that as a reference to self destructive sexual habits - In a world full of temptations you cant get it down without crying - He's talking about his dick.
So is crying a really melodramatic way of saying he forces an orgasm just to stop his hard on?
This is a song I think a lot of people would feel is boring on first listen, but I have been getting more into it recently. I just cannot describe why I enjoy listening to it but possibly others do that comment on it for whatever reason "Can't get it down without crying"- taking medicine food when your sick or anything that you must consume literally or metaphorically brings you to enough pain that it is unbearable. Or Possibly killing something that is necessary to do.
When the wave go down and come WILD COLD Turkey you cry searchin' a vein, searchin' the money, searchin' yourself under that unbearable pain... if you ar very strong you manage to not cause suffer more than needed... you work night and day not taking a granny handbag.... The Powerful Wave come to you night time even many years later... stating that you have NO win even sober and abstinent...you have lost. your mouth stink of ethere the desire is 100 times more strong than The Sharon Stone's Upskirt of Basic Instict.