"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 love the dress sense and the colour of your hair
The way you say that people who are working, they are aiming to be posh, my dear
People flocked around you by the smokeys in our school
Teacher's, they contained all their anger as you regularly broke their rules
And everyone done the pill,
but solvent abuse it can kill
The first taste of heaven there was splattered on your screen
Floating with schemers and the part-time Halloweeners and the Lochee team
And everyone done the pill,
but solvent abuse can kill
5 Rebecca's, all of them are close to me
One of them's a cock, and one of them does history
One of them's my niece, and one lives close
And the one I love the most has turned into a junkie
So under satisfied with minors at your age
And something so deceiving when you find yourself conceiving on a holy day
So unachievable with minors at your height,
and something so deceiving when you find yourself conceiving on a Sunday night
Everyone done the pill, but solvent abuse can kill
5 Rebecca's, all of them are close to me
One of them's a cock, and one of them does history
One of them's my niece, and one lives close
And the one I love the most has turned into a junkie
Poor Miss. Rebecca, you'll be missed my girl
Wasn't for the treasure you'd be rich my girl
Saved your from the terrier and your so called friends,
took a back seater but they killed it in the end though,
You're sitting really cozy in your humble black cave
It doesn't seem likely for a girl your age
Us cupid little kids can never look back,
when one of us is lying in a big brown bag
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
5 Rebecca's, all of them are close to me
One of them's a cock, and one of them does history
One of them's my niece, and one lives close
And the one I love the most has turned into a junkie
5 Rebecca's, all of them are close to me
One of them's a cock, and one of them does history
One of them's my niece, and one lives close
And the one I love the most has turned into a junkie
I love the dress sense and the colour of your hair
They way you say that people who are working
I can tell you, that's a touch my dear
The way you say that people who are working, they are aiming to be posh, my dear
People flocked around you by the smokeys in our school
Teacher's, they contained all their anger as you regularly broke their rules
And everyone done the pill,
but solvent abuse it can kill
The first taste of heaven there was splattered on your screen
Floating with schemers and the part-time Halloweeners and the Lochee team
And everyone done the pill,
but solvent abuse can kill
5 Rebecca's, all of them are close to me
One of them's a cock, and one of them does history
One of them's my niece, and one lives close
And the one I love the most has turned into a junkie
So under satisfied with minors at your age
And something so deceiving when you find yourself conceiving on a holy day
So unachievable with minors at your height,
and something so deceiving when you find yourself conceiving on a Sunday night
Everyone done the pill, but solvent abuse can kill
5 Rebecca's, all of them are close to me
One of them's a cock, and one of them does history
One of them's my niece, and one lives close
And the one I love the most has turned into a junkie
Poor Miss. Rebecca, you'll be missed my girl
Wasn't for the treasure you'd be rich my girl
Saved your from the terrier and your so called friends,
took a back seater but they killed it in the end though,
You're sitting really cozy in your humble black cave
It doesn't seem likely for a girl your age
Us cupid little kids can never look back,
when one of us is lying in a big brown bag
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
5 Rebecca's, all of them are close to me
One of them's a cock, and one of them does history
One of them's my niece, and one lives close
And the one I love the most has turned into a junkie
5 Rebecca's, all of them are close to me
One of them's a cock, and one of them does history
One of them's my niece, and one lives close
And the one I love the most has turned into a junkie
I love the dress sense and the colour of your hair
They way you say that people who are working
I can tell you, that's a touch my dear
Lyrics submitted by lanee
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
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
'The one i love meost has turned into a junkie.'
X