"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 the band in a show
?Bout a man holding hands with his wife
On a therapist couch with his face to the ground
After fucking around countless nights
And there's this one episode
Close-up cameras were showing him crying
His red head and his red eyes
I'm the band in a show
?Bout a boy being buried alive
From his head to his toes by a criminal
But with a sensitive soul, with a set of raccoon eyes
And there's this scene in the show
When a hustler knows he's gonna die
The ground opens and he climbs inside
And as he speaks his last line
A thought falls from his mind
And I pick it up and write it through the TV
Oh, oh, is there a hand to take hold of the scene?
I'm a man in a dream
And they're dancing in front of my eyes
Is the queen informed of the flaws
With the eyes all got odd and rumpled into her spine
She rises up like a young group from a heart
Like a claw splits apart like a jaw, like an eye
And she asks me with a sigh
We were so far from right
We were using the fight
We were letting the light weaken it's beam
Oh, oh, is there a hand to take hold of the scene?
I wanted to smile like a glistening shot of a kiss
That's as sharp as a knife, the day expires
In the dry, cracked, trembling lips [Incomprehensible]
But this gets inside
I lift them up to you, I'd like to bear witness to
Our life that is fine
And is filling the cryingest eyes
Gracing each face that is making the waste
That is broken as one's fairly fly
Love that is in us
Of that ol' cynical covetest, cancerous vibe
And a beauty that annihilates all life
Like it's lived in these nights, holding your hatred tight
Like a sign that should [Incomprehensible] you strong
When the doors are shut tight, I will dream you tonight
And my dream will just sweep you along
When all the fires are fanned
We'll shout you our plans
We're too weak to stand on our two feet
Oh, oh, is there a hand to take hold of the scene?
?Bout a man holding hands with his wife
On a therapist couch with his face to the ground
After fucking around countless nights
And there's this one episode
Close-up cameras were showing him crying
His red head and his red eyes
I'm the band in a show
?Bout a boy being buried alive
From his head to his toes by a criminal
But with a sensitive soul, with a set of raccoon eyes
And there's this scene in the show
When a hustler knows he's gonna die
The ground opens and he climbs inside
And as he speaks his last line
A thought falls from his mind
And I pick it up and write it through the TV
Oh, oh, is there a hand to take hold of the scene?
I'm a man in a dream
And they're dancing in front of my eyes
Is the queen informed of the flaws
With the eyes all got odd and rumpled into her spine
She rises up like a young group from a heart
Like a claw splits apart like a jaw, like an eye
And she asks me with a sigh
We were so far from right
We were using the fight
We were letting the light weaken it's beam
Oh, oh, is there a hand to take hold of the scene?
I wanted to smile like a glistening shot of a kiss
That's as sharp as a knife, the day expires
In the dry, cracked, trembling lips [Incomprehensible]
But this gets inside
I lift them up to you, I'd like to bear witness to
Our life that is fine
And is filling the cryingest eyes
Gracing each face that is making the waste
That is broken as one's fairly fly
Love that is in us
Of that ol' cynical covetest, cancerous vibe
And a beauty that annihilates all life
Like it's lived in these nights, holding your hatred tight
Like a sign that should [Incomprehensible] you strong
When the doors are shut tight, I will dream you tonight
And my dream will just sweep you along
When all the fires are fanned
We'll shout you our plans
We're too weak to stand on our two feet
Oh, oh, is there a hand to take hold of the scene?
Lyrics submitted by smileforthecamera, edited by abunaiYo!
A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene Lyrics as written by Will Robinson Sheff
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
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”
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Here is a great version of this song, I just love it: vimeo.com/953968