"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.
you're turning off your course again
the fall would kill a stronger man
with hungry headlights closing in
st john is looking welcoming
alright
death is always closer than
death's closer than all your friends
death is closer than you think
he's closer than your friends and things
alright
we drove that car into a full on spin
i wonder it just how would it feel if we dove on in
i caught a glimpse of my screaming friend
and when the sound cut out, i swore she’s laughing, alright
shattered lights spiral and blur on in
and then rain sang along to her freckled skin
the city's just a smudge on watery lens
i couldnt help but feel helpless so i kissed her again
turn it off and walk away
dont look into those waves
youll never be the same again
and we all suffer short term memory loss
from time to time
you got him jumping everywhere across the gaps and stairs
embracing every nick and cut and jammed fingered face plant it's
he doesnt care for good repair soak up the sun and air
chipped a tooth to feel the truth breaking every bone he cant mend
the bloods the thing that drives the dream that makes him think he can fall off
the bloods the thing that boils to steam that makes machines out of our hearts
the tires breathing out like tired moms and troubled teens
with secret smoke breaks balancing between showmanship and discovery
mr. melodrama is over there "covering things"
directing traffic, mumbling, like "move it along; nothing to see"
its such a funny dream its such a sight to see
honking horns and doubled breeze
matthews bridge in a watercolour bleed
and im just standing there shifting in my skin
sift through grate below
fall to the rivers wash, taste my blood
embrace my breaking bones
turn it off and walk away
don't look down into those waves
you'll never be the same again
and we all suffer short term memory loss from time to time
we all suffer short term memory loss from time to time
we all suffer short term memory loss from time to time
we all suffer short term memory loss
from time to time
the fall would kill a stronger man
with hungry headlights closing in
st john is looking welcoming
alright
death is always closer than
death's closer than all your friends
death is closer than you think
he's closer than your friends and things
alright
we drove that car into a full on spin
i wonder it just how would it feel if we dove on in
i caught a glimpse of my screaming friend
and when the sound cut out, i swore she’s laughing, alright
shattered lights spiral and blur on in
and then rain sang along to her freckled skin
the city's just a smudge on watery lens
i couldnt help but feel helpless so i kissed her again
turn it off and walk away
dont look into those waves
youll never be the same again
and we all suffer short term memory loss
from time to time
you got him jumping everywhere across the gaps and stairs
embracing every nick and cut and jammed fingered face plant it's
he doesnt care for good repair soak up the sun and air
chipped a tooth to feel the truth breaking every bone he cant mend
the bloods the thing that drives the dream that makes him think he can fall off
the bloods the thing that boils to steam that makes machines out of our hearts
the tires breathing out like tired moms and troubled teens
with secret smoke breaks balancing between showmanship and discovery
mr. melodrama is over there "covering things"
directing traffic, mumbling, like "move it along; nothing to see"
its such a funny dream its such a sight to see
honking horns and doubled breeze
matthews bridge in a watercolour bleed
and im just standing there shifting in my skin
sift through grate below
fall to the rivers wash, taste my blood
embrace my breaking bones
turn it off and walk away
don't look down into those waves
you'll never be the same again
and we all suffer short term memory loss from time to time
we all suffer short term memory loss from time to time
we all suffer short term memory loss from time to time
we all suffer short term memory loss
from time to time
Lyrics submitted by moonbounce, edited by TheSatah
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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.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Story behind the song: youtube.com/watch