"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.
You've got a vision of some far of day beautiful and bright
Care and hanging out of reach but always in your sight
There's an icon in your mind that stands for happiness one day
A picture on some wall of a kingdom far away
[Chorus]
It's closer than you think
It's breathing in between
It's closer than you think
It's right under your feet
The sky is much more blue but the clouds are always white
The streets of course are bold and always lit with rainto flight
There's nothing on this earth that's as good as what's up there
Life is so much better when you're floating in the air
[Chorus]
Forget about your brother if he doesn't seem to understand
The hurt that you've concocted in your head
Never mind your sister when she asks you silly questions
About all the broken people left unfed
Burning questions are better left for dead
Spend your life inside a box looking through stained glass
Dream about a better day and hope it finds you fast
[Chorus]
It's right under your feet
It's right under your feet
Care and hanging out of reach but always in your sight
There's an icon in your mind that stands for happiness one day
A picture on some wall of a kingdom far away
[Chorus]
It's closer than you think
It's breathing in between
It's closer than you think
It's right under your feet
The sky is much more blue but the clouds are always white
The streets of course are bold and always lit with rainto flight
There's nothing on this earth that's as good as what's up there
Life is so much better when you're floating in the air
[Chorus]
Forget about your brother if he doesn't seem to understand
The hurt that you've concocted in your head
Never mind your sister when she asks you silly questions
About all the broken people left unfed
Burning questions are better left for dead
Spend your life inside a box looking through stained glass
Dream about a better day and hope it finds you fast
[Chorus]
It's right under your feet
It's right under your feet
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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”
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
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.
Antisapating Heaven doesn't make us literaly there, but it makes us mentaly and spiritual there. We are to long for Heaven and have a Heavenly mindset.
I think that this song is pointig out that many Christians live with their heads in the clouds, focusing only on the "heaven [they have] concocted in their heads." Rather than helping "All the broken people left unfed," or "those who don't seem to understand," these Christians only want the rewards of their faith. This song states that in order to make heaven truly exist "beneath our feet," we must help others, and not be consumed by our desire for the perfect world.
You might actually be right. I'v been thinking about this song and it seems that the chorus is disagreeing with the verses. He'll state some things in the verses, and then refute them in the chorus. The verses also seem very sarcastic.
If this is the case, I kind of disagree with this song because I don't think it's our job to make this world like Heaven. This world will eventually be destroyed by God according to the Bible, and nothing we do can change that. I think our eyes should be set to Heaven, the REAL Heaven and not this cheap excuse for Heaven called earth. That said, I do think we should help others and try to make this world a better place, but not because we think we can make this world a heavenly utopia, but because it's the right thing to do.
this song is about living life and seeing nothing good coming soon. We see heaven as this distant far away land which we cannot realistically conceptualize. We forget how close God actually is to us because we view him as being only up in heaven whereas His spirit is actually here with us (breathing in between).
Whenever I am low about how my life is going, this song reminds me of the paradise which the Lord promises, and how close this promise actually is to me