"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.
Well I wake up in the morning at 11:47 and I can’t believe I have to face the horror of another fucking day
And the magnificent magnitude of my morning erection merely mocks me like the sun in its optimistic greeting of the day
Managing to manifest a modicum of motivation I meander to the kitchen make a mission out of mixing Nescafe
But the milk is going off and coffee by itself is bitter and there’s ants all through the sugar and the supermarket’s fucking miles away
My life is pretty sad
But I know that I should be glad.
At least I’m not a starving Ethiope
Or a policeman in Bagdad
At 11:53 I instigate the day’s ablutions in the hope my constitution can be altered by some action on the bowl
But the total non-existence of colonic animation seems to me the perfect metaphor for the utter constipation of my soul
By 11:59 I have decided that my life would be immediately improved by a carefully written list of short-term goals
But by 12.05 my list consists of 1-dot put some pants on, 2-dot go to the shop, buy some prunes and Panadol
My life is pretty shit
But I know I shouldn’t whinge about it
I could be a Palestinian
Driving buses on the Gaza strip
Yeah how bad can it be?
Some people have it worse than me
I could be a child prostitute
Or Gary Glitter’s family
I have no right to cry
Some people have it worse than I
I could be a thalidomide kid
With something in my eye
At 12:30 I realise I’m feeling so dejected that I’ve totally neglected the beginning of the Jerry Springer show
So I settle on the sofa try to focus an iota of my motor-neurones on the brilliant insights for which Jerry is known
And although on any other day a show entitled “Midgets Midget Midgets” would excite me like a virgin at her year eleven ball
Today those little jelly-wresting fellas fail to free me of my misery instead they simply serve to make me feel three foot tall
But how bad can it be?
Some people have it worse than me
I could be a Jewish stand up comedian
In Nazi Germany
Or I could be a Dockers fan
Or an orphan in Pakistan
Or the architect of the World Trade Centre
Or a bobcat driver in Bam Iran
I could be making an investigation
Of a backpack in an underground station
Or I could be a peace-loving speech-writer
In George W’s administration
Yeah I know that I don’t have the right
To be unhappy with my life
I could be Paris Hilton’s mother
Or Shane Warne’s wife
And I know that I shouldn’t be bitchin
I could be in a worse position
I could be a 3-nippled naturopath
In the days of the Spanish inquisition
I know I have no right to cry
Some people have it worse than I
I could have a serious nut allergy
And be shipwrecked on an island with a crate of Snickers bars
A jar of Nutella and a fresh baked pecan pie
Some people have it worse than I
And the magnificent magnitude of my morning erection merely mocks me like the sun in its optimistic greeting of the day
Managing to manifest a modicum of motivation I meander to the kitchen make a mission out of mixing Nescafe
But the milk is going off and coffee by itself is bitter and there’s ants all through the sugar and the supermarket’s fucking miles away
My life is pretty sad
But I know that I should be glad.
At least I’m not a starving Ethiope
Or a policeman in Bagdad
At 11:53 I instigate the day’s ablutions in the hope my constitution can be altered by some action on the bowl
But the total non-existence of colonic animation seems to me the perfect metaphor for the utter constipation of my soul
By 11:59 I have decided that my life would be immediately improved by a carefully written list of short-term goals
But by 12.05 my list consists of 1-dot put some pants on, 2-dot go to the shop, buy some prunes and Panadol
My life is pretty shit
But I know I shouldn’t whinge about it
I could be a Palestinian
Driving buses on the Gaza strip
Yeah how bad can it be?
Some people have it worse than me
I could be a child prostitute
Or Gary Glitter’s family
I have no right to cry
Some people have it worse than I
I could be a thalidomide kid
With something in my eye
At 12:30 I realise I’m feeling so dejected that I’ve totally neglected the beginning of the Jerry Springer show
So I settle on the sofa try to focus an iota of my motor-neurones on the brilliant insights for which Jerry is known
And although on any other day a show entitled “Midgets Midget Midgets” would excite me like a virgin at her year eleven ball
Today those little jelly-wresting fellas fail to free me of my misery instead they simply serve to make me feel three foot tall
But how bad can it be?
Some people have it worse than me
I could be a Jewish stand up comedian
In Nazi Germany
Or I could be a Dockers fan
Or an orphan in Pakistan
Or the architect of the World Trade Centre
Or a bobcat driver in Bam Iran
I could be making an investigation
Of a backpack in an underground station
Or I could be a peace-loving speech-writer
In George W’s administration
Yeah I know that I don’t have the right
To be unhappy with my life
I could be Paris Hilton’s mother
Or Shane Warne’s wife
And I know that I shouldn’t be bitchin
I could be in a worse position
I could be a 3-nippled naturopath
In the days of the Spanish inquisition
I know I have no right to cry
Some people have it worse than I
I could have a serious nut allergy
And be shipwrecked on an island with a crate of Snickers bars
A jar of Nutella and a fresh baked pecan pie
Some people have it worse than I
Lyrics submitted by Richard2468
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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.
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.
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.
I think the line is "Ipswich prostitute" but whatever . . he's Genius!
I think the line is: I could have my identity mistaken for a bomber in an Underground station. It's a reference to Jean Charles de Menezes getting shot mistakenly shot in Stockwell Tube station.
I think he sings it differently depending on the performance you've seen.