"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.
Now you go unseen, perfect you'll stay hidden
And I can dream of things you'll never see
All I please, if you are braver than the rest,
There's little left that could dispute your claim
And when you'd finally gone
He tells me "you were dead all along"
He was wrong, he hadn't lived a day
The way you lived your final days
A teenager in love with Christ and heroin
Now you feel ashamed
But he feels nothing of the kind
He talks of things he wouldn't mind to try sometime,
But you've got little left to give
His touch is not a thing you'll ever miss
And if you made a stand,
I'd stand with you til the end
But you don't need a friend when you're
A teenager in love with Christ and heroin
And I can dream of things you'll never see
All I please, if you are braver than the rest,
There's little left that could dispute your claim
And when you'd finally gone
He tells me "you were dead all along"
He was wrong, he hadn't lived a day
The way you lived your final days
A teenager in love with Christ and heroin
Now you feel ashamed
But he feels nothing of the kind
He talks of things he wouldn't mind to try sometime,
But you've got little left to give
His touch is not a thing you'll ever miss
And if you made a stand,
I'd stand with you til the end
But you don't need a friend when you're
A teenager in love with Christ and heroin
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
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
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.
"Now you go unseen, perfect youll stay hidden and i can dream of things youll never see" Simple, Alli has died. Hence, is unseen. The speaker talks of the glory of dying young as "perfect, you'll stay hidden." But the benefits of life that he "can dream of things you'll never see"
"when youd finally gone he tells me "you were dead all along" he was wrong, he hadnt lived a day the way you lived your final days a teenager in love with christ and heroin" When she has died, her boyfriend tells the speaker that because of her addiction and the state she was in, she was dead all along really. The singer disagrees, commenting on the intensity of feeling and the passion of being alive when "a teenager in love with christ and heaven."
"now you feel ashamed but he feels nothing of the kind he talks of things he wouldnt mind to try sometime," I think this is sexual rather than to do with the drugs. This boyfriend has seduced her and she is ashamed, while he thinks about the things he'd like to try with her, backed up by the line "his touch is not a thing you'll ever miss"
I think the song is generally about this arrogant boyfriend taking advantage of her and not seeing the pain and beauty in her desperate position. The singer offers his help and understanding "If you made a stand..." but she rebukes it, choosing her love for Christ and heroin, and ultimately death. The singer does not disapprove of her lifestyle, and always has seen the romance and tragedy to it.