"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've been thinking
Let get out of this party and let's flee
These kids never meant much to me
I'll get it started
First shot is the hardest to deal with
So let's sober up on the drive home
Let's go some place where the cops will leave us alone
And we'll stay out all night
'Cause rest is for the dead
So we won't stop, no we won't stop
Raise your glass high
And let's throw out a toast to the road, where ever we go
We'll hold friends close and never want to go home
I've been hearing you've been talking to my boys all wrong
Giving us looks all night long
Get your coat, time to go, hit the road
You can find us hiding in headstones
(So let's) sober up on the drive home
Let's go some place where the cops will leave us alone
'Cause tonight is like you and I
So alive and too young (too young to die)
Stay out all night
'Cause rest is for the dead
So we won't stop, no we won't stop
Raise your glass high
And let's throw out a toast to the road, where ever we go
We'll hold friends close and never want to go home
We'll never want to go home
Let's break the bottles in well lit parking lots
I know it's not much but it's all I've got
We'll break the bottles in well lit parking lots
I know it's not much but it's all we've got
Sober up on the drive home
Let's go some place where the cops will leave us alone
To leave us alone
Stay out all night
'Cause rest is for the dead
So we won't stop, no we won't stop
Raise your glass high
And let's throw out a toast to the road (to the road)
Stay out all night
'Cause rest is for the dead
So we won't stop, no we won't stop
Raise your glass high
This is a toast to the road, where ever we go
We'll hold friends close and never want to go home
To the road, where ever we go
We'll hold friends close and never want to go home
To the road, where ever we go
We'll hold friends close and never want to go home
To the road, where ever we go
We'll hold friends close and never let them go
Let get out of this party and let's flee
These kids never meant much to me
I'll get it started
First shot is the hardest to deal with
So let's sober up on the drive home
Let's go some place where the cops will leave us alone
And we'll stay out all night
'Cause rest is for the dead
So we won't stop, no we won't stop
Raise your glass high
And let's throw out a toast to the road, where ever we go
We'll hold friends close and never want to go home
I've been hearing you've been talking to my boys all wrong
Giving us looks all night long
Get your coat, time to go, hit the road
You can find us hiding in headstones
(So let's) sober up on the drive home
Let's go some place where the cops will leave us alone
'Cause tonight is like you and I
So alive and too young (too young to die)
Stay out all night
'Cause rest is for the dead
So we won't stop, no we won't stop
Raise your glass high
And let's throw out a toast to the road, where ever we go
We'll hold friends close and never want to go home
We'll never want to go home
Let's break the bottles in well lit parking lots
I know it's not much but it's all I've got
We'll break the bottles in well lit parking lots
I know it's not much but it's all we've got
Sober up on the drive home
Let's go some place where the cops will leave us alone
To leave us alone
Stay out all night
'Cause rest is for the dead
So we won't stop, no we won't stop
Raise your glass high
And let's throw out a toast to the road (to the road)
Stay out all night
'Cause rest is for the dead
So we won't stop, no we won't stop
Raise your glass high
This is a toast to the road, where ever we go
We'll hold friends close and never want to go home
To the road, where ever we go
We'll hold friends close and never want to go home
To the road, where ever we go
We'll hold friends close and never want to go home
To the road, where ever we go
We'll hold friends close and never let them go
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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.
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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/
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.
i love this song. im surprised how different they sound with the new singer. but i like it a lot! everyone -- htl is on tour starting this month! go out and support them XD
I love this song. It's a shame that Colin left, but I think they'll do great with Nick singing. So far, so good [:
Oh, and in the first line, you forgot the 's' in 'let's'.
This song is pretty catchy! I miss the old Hit The Lights still =/ Colin's a cool guy and he's a lot happier now tho.
I saw some videos of HTL with the new line up and it feels like a cover band haha. Hopefully they'll get some more material soon!
As far as this song goes, I think it's about Colin and the the new line up actually. "Rest is for the dead, we wont stop" -The reason colin quit was because he couldn't take the lifestyle and he was always unhealthy and stuff. They're saying (in a surprisingly slightly harsh way) that they don't need him, and that they aren't gonna stop doing what they do.
"First shot's the hardest" -After a big change in a band like this one had, the first new song (that first shot back in the game) is the toughest because everyone is gonna compare it to the their old stuff and its gonna set the bar for their following material.
"We'll hold friends close and never want to go home" -Though they're probably a little mad that colin left, he's still their good friend and there aren't any hard feelings.
"I've been hearing you've been talking to my man all wrong" -All about what people have to say about Colin, about Nick, about the new band and the new lineup and everything.
The song is basically saying "Hey, we lost our lead singer, but that doesn't mean we're giving up. We're gonna keep our heads up and push on, whether you like our sound or not!"
=]
@ineedsleepingpills - good theory, but they actually originally recorded this song with colin in the band, the demo just never saw the light of day because he quit shortly after.
first shot is the hardest just sounds like an obvious statement about drinking to me...you know, your first shot is always the hardest to get down, after that it gets easier and easier as you get drunker and don't care....haha.
In the new CD it's BOYS not man,
I've been hearing you've been talking to my BOYS all wrong.
The one they had up was only a demo.
dom alert: In Colin's version he sings 'man' so it's both.
yes, but that was only a demo version :)
oh i see (: I don't have the album yet :/
oh i see (: I don't have the album yet :/