"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 want to walk through this doorway
I want to open my mind
I want to pledge my allegiance to all I can find.
I want a car that will crash through the barriers
To a road no one knows.
I want to feel less control,
Want to bend and I want to land far from home.
The revolution of the earth around the sun
Is the perfect lesson of how it should be.
So if I cannot learn
To journey and return,
To never rest till I've seen all I can see
I want to learn a completely new language,
One I don't understand.
I want to help someone lost, someone helpless,
With the strength of my hand.
I want to come to the base of a statue built
Before they counted the years,
And there I'll fall with my face in my hands and cry
And feel their hope in my tears.
The revolution of the earth around the sun
Is the perfect lesson of how it should be.
So if I cannot learn,
To journey and return,
To never rest till I've seen all I can see
Train rides and pastures collidin
Colors and customs I've never seen
I know I, yes I know I,
I know I will stumble
But time is precious my friend.
Those who journey can easily understand,
The more they see the more they'll learn,
The more that they will be.
So this I swear to you, and this I swear to me,
I'll never rest till I've seen all I can see.
No, I'll never rest till I've seen all I can see.
I want to know where the strength of a person lies,
In their past or their future.
Is it in the way that they hurt or they love themselves
Or is it all an illusion?
I want to crawl from this skin that I'm painted in
Body, please let it give.
I want to find the creator of all good things
And ask what it means to live
I want to open my mind
I want to pledge my allegiance to all I can find.
I want a car that will crash through the barriers
To a road no one knows.
I want to feel less control,
Want to bend and I want to land far from home.
The revolution of the earth around the sun
Is the perfect lesson of how it should be.
So if I cannot learn
To journey and return,
To never rest till I've seen all I can see
I want to learn a completely new language,
One I don't understand.
I want to help someone lost, someone helpless,
With the strength of my hand.
I want to come to the base of a statue built
Before they counted the years,
And there I'll fall with my face in my hands and cry
And feel their hope in my tears.
The revolution of the earth around the sun
Is the perfect lesson of how it should be.
So if I cannot learn,
To journey and return,
To never rest till I've seen all I can see
Train rides and pastures collidin
Colors and customs I've never seen
I know I, yes I know I,
I know I will stumble
But time is precious my friend.
Those who journey can easily understand,
The more they see the more they'll learn,
The more that they will be.
So this I swear to you, and this I swear to me,
I'll never rest till I've seen all I can see.
No, I'll never rest till I've seen all I can see.
I want to know where the strength of a person lies,
In their past or their future.
Is it in the way that they hurt or they love themselves
Or is it all an illusion?
I want to crawl from this skin that I'm painted in
Body, please let it give.
I want to find the creator of all good things
And ask what it means to live
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Man this song is probably the best all around life song ever... It describes of how little time we have on this earth and how important it is to make the best of it.... Remember to LIVE.