"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 once touched a girl in seventeen places
She was quite the girl, she’s in my head
She felt soft like liquorice, smooth like a criminal
I can’t get that girl out of my head
She’s been making a home inside my head
How long until I win this battle?
I’ve played the game for so long
Should I wait and how long should I play the game for?
How long until I win this battle?
I’ve played the game for so long
Should I wait and how long should I play the game for?
She’s the type of girl who’d eat you for breakfast
She’s the type of girl who’d take you to town
She moves like a cyclone
She talks like a angel
She’s the strangest girl I’ve ever found
She’s been turning my whole world upside down
How long until I win this battle?
I’ve played the game for so long
Should I wait and how long should I play the game for?
How long until I win this battle?
I’ve played the game for so long
Should I wait and how long should I play the game for?
To think you’ve gotta feel
To feel you’ve gotta live
To live you’ve gotta love
To love you’ve gotta give
To need you’ve gotta want
To want you’ve gotta see
To see you’ve gotta look
To look you’ve gotta need
I once touched a girl in seventeen places
She was quite the girl, she’s in my head
She felt soft like liquorice, smooth like a criminal
I can’t get that girl out of my head
She’s been making a hole inside my head
How long until I win this battle?
I’ve played the game for so long
Should I wait and how long should I play the game for?
How long until I win this battle?
I’ve played the game for so long
Should I wait and how long should I play the game for?
I once touched a girl…
She was quite the girl, she’s in my head
She felt soft like liquorice, smooth like a criminal
I can’t get that girl out of my head
She’s been making a home inside my head
How long until I win this battle?
I’ve played the game for so long
Should I wait and how long should I play the game for?
How long until I win this battle?
I’ve played the game for so long
Should I wait and how long should I play the game for?
She’s the type of girl who’d eat you for breakfast
She’s the type of girl who’d take you to town
She moves like a cyclone
She talks like a angel
She’s the strangest girl I’ve ever found
She’s been turning my whole world upside down
How long until I win this battle?
I’ve played the game for so long
Should I wait and how long should I play the game for?
How long until I win this battle?
I’ve played the game for so long
Should I wait and how long should I play the game for?
To think you’ve gotta feel
To feel you’ve gotta live
To live you’ve gotta love
To love you’ve gotta give
To need you’ve gotta want
To want you’ve gotta see
To see you’ve gotta look
To look you’ve gotta need
I once touched a girl in seventeen places
She was quite the girl, she’s in my head
She felt soft like liquorice, smooth like a criminal
I can’t get that girl out of my head
She’s been making a hole inside my head
How long until I win this battle?
I’ve played the game for so long
Should I wait and how long should I play the game for?
How long until I win this battle?
I’ve played the game for so long
Should I wait and how long should I play the game for?
I once touched a girl…
Lyrics submitted by true.love.way
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
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 ?? is "criminal".. There's no ball on the end of the line. And the second line.. I think he says head, not hair. It sounds like hair but it makes more sense if its head. And in the second verse I think he says "She talks like an angel". And I'm almost positive he says "she's been making a home inside my head".
I love the impact of his voice has when he says "in seventeen places", against the softness in his voice in the "I once touched a girl" part of the line.
Thanks for the help, I did all of these SWN lyrics pretty quickly, and wasn't sure of bits.
Thats cool, one of my favourite songs, I listen to it on repeat. =]