"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 was one as you were one
And we were two so much in love forever
I loved the white socks that you wore
But you don't wear white socks no more; now you're a woman
I joked about your turned-up nose
And criticized your school-girl clothes
But would I then have paced these roads to love you
For seasons come and seasons go
Bring forth the rain the sun and snow
Make Valerie a woman
And Valerie is lonely
No more to roam on the snow hills of Hinton
Undecided with the guardians of the older generation
A doormat was a sign of welcome
In the winter months to come
And in the summer laughing
Through the castle ruins we'd run
For the quadrangle sang to the sun
And the grace of our feeling
And the candle burned low as we talked of the future
Underneath the ceiling
There were tears in the sky
And the clouds in your eyes were just cover
For your thighs were the cushions
Of my love and yours for each other
The songs still are sung
It was fun to be young
But please, don't be sad where 'ere you are
I am who I am
You are who you are
Now Valerie's a woman
Now Valerie's a woman
Now Valerie's a woman
And we were two so much in love forever
I loved the white socks that you wore
But you don't wear white socks no more; now you're a woman
I joked about your turned-up nose
And criticized your school-girl clothes
But would I then have paced these roads to love you
For seasons come and seasons go
Bring forth the rain the sun and snow
Make Valerie a woman
And Valerie is lonely
No more to roam on the snow hills of Hinton
Undecided with the guardians of the older generation
A doormat was a sign of welcome
In the winter months to come
And in the summer laughing
Through the castle ruins we'd run
For the quadrangle sang to the sun
And the grace of our feeling
And the candle burned low as we talked of the future
Underneath the ceiling
There were tears in the sky
And the clouds in your eyes were just cover
For your thighs were the cushions
Of my love and yours for each other
The songs still are sung
It was fun to be young
But please, don't be sad where 'ere you are
I am who I am
You are who you are
Now Valerie's a woman
Now Valerie's a woman
Now Valerie's a woman
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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.
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.
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.
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.
This is a song about first love, the loss of virginity and wistful memories when that first love has long passed. Valerie starts the song in schoolgirl clothes but becomes a woman as her 'thighs were the cushions'. However, 'seasons come and seasons go' thus we all grow older and 'now Valerie's a woman' no longer with her first love who tells her 'not to be sad where' she is for life moves on.