"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.
There's a funeral procession on the highway
Traffic screeches to a halt
There's people searching for a better way
To live their lives, oh
Johnny lived a good life, you'll hear them say
As tears of sadness soak the ground
The reaper crept in, took his breath away
In the middle of the night, oh
We celebrate the lives of the dead
It's like a man's best party, only happens when he dies
We gather 'round to pay our respects
While their souls are still searching for the light
Searching for the light
So please don't come to me on my dying day
Just let me go in peace
With all the things that I forgot to say
Racing through my mind, oh
And don't you bury me six feet under ground
Just burn my body in a box
And let my ashes blow with the wind
Out into the night sky
We celebrate the lives of the dead
It's like a man's best party, only happens when he dies
We gather 'round to pay our respects
While their souls are still searching for the light
Searching for the light
Searching for the light, oh
Searching for the light
Traffic screeches to a halt
There's people searching for a better way
To live their lives, oh
Johnny lived a good life, you'll hear them say
As tears of sadness soak the ground
The reaper crept in, took his breath away
In the middle of the night, oh
We celebrate the lives of the dead
It's like a man's best party, only happens when he dies
We gather 'round to pay our respects
While their souls are still searching for the light
Searching for the light
So please don't come to me on my dying day
Just let me go in peace
With all the things that I forgot to say
Racing through my mind, oh
And don't you bury me six feet under ground
Just burn my body in a box
And let my ashes blow with the wind
Out into the night sky
We celebrate the lives of the dead
It's like a man's best party, only happens when he dies
We gather 'round to pay our respects
While their souls are still searching for the light
Searching for the light
Searching for the light, oh
Searching for the light
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
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.
my FAV song on bring me your love. its so chilling with the whole death factor
the part "just burn my body in a box"
really makes me think about the whole being buried or cremated thing. death really spokes me :)
I think this song is about appreciating someones life and not dwelling so much on the sadness in death.
"this song is about how i want to get buried" - dallas green
i remember him saying so at soundwave. spinechilling performance he gave.
his voice is so wonderful
My favourite song on the album. It reminds me that I'm alive.
youtube.com/watch @ 4:00. i totally agree with everything he says about the uneasiness of funerals. but i also see it as a very respectable way to let go. watch all parts of the interview, the link up there is part 3.
I i agree with fava.folk music is usaly aboute a simple message and this song is clearly aboute how he whants to get buried and all that stuff........hi mom!
I always thought this was kind of about the way he wanted to get buried! when he sings "Just burn my body in a box And let my ashes Blow with the wind Out into the night sky" i really love that. i think that's the way i'd like to be buried as well.
The topic and this song are both very unique.
Such a good song, I love the harmonica parts, someone really special to me taught me how to play it once, and now I can't listen to the song without bringing back memories.
maybe about how he doesn't want to be buried? song kinda creeps me out. good though.