"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 wear the red shoes
With the holes
To remind me
What we went through
Sit down here
Kick 'em off enough
Not had enough of you
I tell you
You know
The car you drive
Keeps breaking down
And never starts
Next thing
I'm pulling up to you
We're in the backseat
Driving it home
No one wants
To be alone
[Chorus]
What do you do?
What do you do
When everything
Is broken?
What do you say?
What do you say
When no words
Fit the moment?
'Cause you're not here
And even if you were
All I could say
Is what do I do?
What do I do?
We're broken
But I can't
Throw us away
The video
Of our vacation's
Chewed up in the drawer
Beside me
She thinks I never got
To watch it
I'm so glad
I made a copy
The sky
Got bitter twisted
Just like you and me
I miss it
You snap it
Bend it
Burn it
Then you find
That you can't fix it
Fall back on whatever
Still remains
[Chorus]
Breaking you in
Breaking your heart
I was taking it all
And I tore you apart
Breaking me in
Breaking my heart
And the damage was done
But I took what you got
We were breakin' it
Smashin' it
Takin' it
Lovin' it
Hatin' it
Drivin' it home
And now I'm all
Now I'm all alone
Oh, yeah
Oh, yeah
Oh, yeah
Oh, yeah
[Chorus]
What do I do?
We're broken
But I can't
Throw us away
With the holes
To remind me
What we went through
Sit down here
Kick 'em off enough
Not had enough of you
I tell you
You know
The car you drive
Keeps breaking down
And never starts
Next thing
I'm pulling up to you
We're in the backseat
Driving it home
No one wants
To be alone
[Chorus]
What do you do?
What do you do
When everything
Is broken?
What do you say?
What do you say
When no words
Fit the moment?
'Cause you're not here
And even if you were
All I could say
Is what do I do?
What do I do?
We're broken
But I can't
Throw us away
The video
Of our vacation's
Chewed up in the drawer
Beside me
She thinks I never got
To watch it
I'm so glad
I made a copy
The sky
Got bitter twisted
Just like you and me
I miss it
You snap it
Bend it
Burn it
Then you find
That you can't fix it
Fall back on whatever
Still remains
[Chorus]
Breaking you in
Breaking your heart
I was taking it all
And I tore you apart
Breaking me in
Breaking my heart
And the damage was done
But I took what you got
We were breakin' it
Smashin' it
Takin' it
Lovin' it
Hatin' it
Drivin' it home
And now I'm all
Now I'm all alone
Oh, yeah
Oh, yeah
Oh, yeah
Oh, yeah
[Chorus]
What do I do?
We're broken
But I can't
Throw us away
Lyrics submitted by Rafael Moliv
Broken Lyrics as written by Lauren Christy Graham Edwards
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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.
the meaning of this song is pretty clear, "we're broken, but I can't throw us away" obviously the relationship has pretty much deteriorated, but they can't let go of it, even though it's in pieces.
so amazing, I wish it had been released. katy's voice sounds so real in this song, I love it.
i love this song. just like person above me said, the meaning is pretty clear. i love both her voice and the matrix guys, he puts a lot of emphasis on his part. i like that.