"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.
Open that door: I'll follow you into that space
Where nothing is regretted then forgotten
Where is that grace that carries me out? so strange it's mine
It wont be,
[Chorus]
Yesterday when before when before the day of collapsing
And I'll stand through all these lines
Just to make it back to you
Can you help me every step of the way?
We can bury that battle and bury the cause
There is nothing that I can say because I was wrong this time
Everyone knows cause they see the glare in your eyes
Careful now, don't drown yourself ion sorrow
I was the one that built that cross and weighed you down.
And now I'll carry on till it's over, and it's over
[Chorus: x2]
Where nothing is regretted then forgotten
Where is that grace that carries me out? so strange it's mine
It wont be,
[Chorus]
Yesterday when before when before the day of collapsing
And I'll stand through all these lines
Just to make it back to you
Can you help me every step of the way?
We can bury that battle and bury the cause
There is nothing that I can say because I was wrong this time
Everyone knows cause they see the glare in your eyes
Careful now, don't drown yourself ion sorrow
I was the one that built that cross and weighed you down.
And now I'll carry on till it's over, and it's over
[Chorus: x2]
Lyrics submitted by LockUpYourChildx
Robots 3 Humans 0 Lyrics as written by Cory Brandan Putman
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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i just bought the album! this song is my favorite.
i don't believe in god but i do love norma jean to death. i think that their music is gorgeous.
i think that everyone can take this song a different way. to me, it's about two people struggling to stay together, whether it's about two friends, two lovers or between someone and god.
no idea what it means but its much different than other nj songs.
good in its own way.
NORMA JEAN VS THE ANTI MOTHER AUGUST 5TH NEW ALBUM!
i think this is about him coming back to God... "And I’ll stand through all these lines just to make it back to you."
I'm not sure but this line pretty much gives it away that its about God: "I was the one that built that cross and weighed you down"
Loving NJ's New Approach To Writing. CANT WAIT FOR AUGUST THE 5TH!
i love corys singing voice. its the only light singing that would sound appropriate for norma jean
I'm not sure if I got it all right, but this is my first thought after hearing the song.
"Open that door" referees to the "Memphis will be laid to waste"-lyrics where it means to open up and let sin get into your life.
"I’ll follow you into that space. Where nothing is regretted then forgotten."
If we start to sin it's hard to stop again and we go into that place where nothing is regretted (because often we do not even think about our daily sins), but it will never be forgotten by God.
"Where is that grace that carries me out? So strange it’s mine."
So it's amazing that God has given grace and forgiveness to us and for our sins.
"It’s closed and locked but If you open that door, It won’t be yesterday when, Before the days of collapsing, And I’ll stand through all these lines just to make it back to you."
God created us without sin. Sin was locked away, but if we open the door i won't be anymore. And yesterday before the world collapses means before he started committing this ever-returning sin. He would have stood through all the lines (he would have been a good example and not opened the door) but now he is just making it all back to God (he is doing all the wrong things this song is warning about). Summary: Before he started doing this sin he thought it would be easy not to open the door, but now he has opened it.
"Can you help me every step of the way? We can bury that battle and bury the cause. There is nothing that I can say because I was wrong this time. "
Asking God for help and strength to defeat this sin and get it out of his life. And he admits that opening the door was wrong.
"Everyone knows Cause they see the glare in our eyes. Careful now, don’t drown your self in sorrow. I was the one that built that cross and weighed you down and now I’ll carry on till it’s over… and it’s over"
This part is hard, but i guess he is talking about how it is our fault that Jesus died on the cross - because of all our sins. And yet he (we) will continue sinning tough we know the price.
So all in all the song is about how we all fall into sin, but God has given us grace and mercy, and he got the power to help us trough this life. But even tough we know how much he has suffered for us, we still continue in our own ways.
Brunsnaes has the right idea. Let's face it atheist fans of NJ They're christian, but fuck can they rock.
Now, baring with the aforementionned theory about the lyrics, the title could possibly refer to those who "ignore their daily sins" and become the "robots of society" those who make the world go around the way it does, with greed, hatred and all those other sins.
Thanks for the interpretation Brunsnaes.
I would not have looked at those lyrics like that. I knew the song was about asking God for help, but was lost on most of the song.
i heard chino moreno sang here. Where exactly does he sing?
Cory explans that its about a long relationship and you go through different doors that represent different decisions they make and to take responsibility for them and how crazy life can get if you let it