"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 know what you want
You want to rest like everyone else but you're so uptight
The things you see will haunt you
As you lay your head down to go to sleep
You are putting up a fight
You put up a fight
I know how you feel
You feel like all the other people in your town
It's so hard to swallow down
You never felt
Quite like the victim that you feel you are right now
You've got to find yourself delight
You don't put up a fight
The hands are controlled by the whispers
and the whispers are controlled by the things that you hear
They fill you with fear
'Cause they bring you down
All over town
Now we all can see you're in desperate need
To find all the glory
With the hands that spread disease
Your poison is (a seed?)
That manifests the terrifying stories
We know what you want
You want to be the king of everyone else
Yea you're such a tyrant
Things you do will haunt us
As we lay our heads down to go to sleep
You'll do anything to be the boss
No matter the cost
Your hands are controlled by the whispers
and the whispers are controlled by the things that you hear
Your actions are controlled by
oh oh the language and the language is controlled by
oh oh the hunger you feel
They don't let you keep still
For the thrill of hunting us down
All over town
It is clear to me
Your words have taken over all the city streets
There lie the pools of life
Just laugh (???)
You throb with the pulse of the animal that eats
There is nothing else to do
'Cause you live here too.
Your hands are controlled by the whispers
and the whispers are controlled by the things that you hear
Your actions are controlled by
oh oh the language and the language is controlled by
oh oh the hunger that you feel
Your actions are controlled by
oh oh the language and the language is controlled by
oh oh the hunger that you feel
They don't let you keep still
For the thrill of running around
All over town
You want to rest like everyone else but you're so uptight
The things you see will haunt you
As you lay your head down to go to sleep
You are putting up a fight
You put up a fight
I know how you feel
You feel like all the other people in your town
It's so hard to swallow down
You never felt
Quite like the victim that you feel you are right now
You've got to find yourself delight
You don't put up a fight
The hands are controlled by the whispers
and the whispers are controlled by the things that you hear
They fill you with fear
'Cause they bring you down
All over town
Now we all can see you're in desperate need
To find all the glory
With the hands that spread disease
Your poison is (a seed?)
That manifests the terrifying stories
We know what you want
You want to be the king of everyone else
Yea you're such a tyrant
Things you do will haunt us
As we lay our heads down to go to sleep
You'll do anything to be the boss
No matter the cost
Your hands are controlled by the whispers
and the whispers are controlled by the things that you hear
Your actions are controlled by
oh oh the language and the language is controlled by
oh oh the hunger you feel
They don't let you keep still
For the thrill of hunting us down
All over town
It is clear to me
Your words have taken over all the city streets
There lie the pools of life
Just laugh (???)
You throb with the pulse of the animal that eats
There is nothing else to do
'Cause you live here too.
Your hands are controlled by the whispers
and the whispers are controlled by the things that you hear
Your actions are controlled by
oh oh the language and the language is controlled by
oh oh the hunger that you feel
Your actions are controlled by
oh oh the language and the language is controlled by
oh oh the hunger that you feel
They don't let you keep still
For the thrill of running around
All over town
Lyrics submitted by boohskey
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
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.
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 line where you have, "just laugh (???)" is actually, "Just like the heart that beats"