"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.
Freedom calls my name
Serenity keeps me sane
Happiness, it dulls the pain
Honest to see my place
Open to other ways
Willingness to understand
Justice but do not judge
Courtesy for others' flaws
Kindness, it's not that hard
Self-restraint of tongue and pen
Inventory, my daily friend
Analysis let down your guard
Look in the mirror
What do you see?
The shattered fortress
That once bound me
Faithful ascent, through darkest fires
I've found the path to take me higher
You're smart enough for me to trust go live your life now
Just keep these steps in your life and you'll know how
If you're not sure, ask yourself,
"Have I done to them as I would have them do to me?"
Look in the mirror
What's that you see?
The shattered fortress
Fly now be free
Faithful ascent, through darkest fires
I've found the path to take me higher
I once thought it better to be right
But now I have finally seen the light
Sometimes you've got to be wrong
And learn from mistakes
I live with serenity now
Not self-righteous hate
(Help me be a channel of Thy peace
That where there is hatred, I may bring love;
That where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;
That where there is discord, I may bring harmony;
That where there is error, I may bring truth;
That where there is doubt, I may bring faith)
Now that you can see all you have done
(That where there is despair, I may bring hope;
That where there are shadows, I may bring light)
It's time to take that step into the kingdom
(That where there is sadness, I may bring joy)
All your sins will help to make you strong
(That I may seek rather to comfort, than to be comforted.
That I may seek to understand than to be understood)
And help you break right through the prison wall
(That I may seek to love, rather than to be loved,
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds,
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven)
Keep all of me,
The desires that once burned me deep inside
Help me live today
And help to give me grace
To carry out your way
I am ready, help me be all I can be
I am ready, help guide me and keep me free
I am responsible when anyone, anywhere
Reaches out for help, I want my hand to be there
I am responsible when anyone, anywhere
Reaches out for help, I want my hand to be there
Serenity keeps me sane
Happiness, it dulls the pain
Honest to see my place
Open to other ways
Willingness to understand
Justice but do not judge
Courtesy for others' flaws
Kindness, it's not that hard
Self-restraint of tongue and pen
Inventory, my daily friend
Analysis let down your guard
Look in the mirror
What do you see?
The shattered fortress
That once bound me
Faithful ascent, through darkest fires
I've found the path to take me higher
You're smart enough for me to trust go live your life now
Just keep these steps in your life and you'll know how
If you're not sure, ask yourself,
"Have I done to them as I would have them do to me?"
Look in the mirror
What's that you see?
The shattered fortress
Fly now be free
Faithful ascent, through darkest fires
I've found the path to take me higher
I once thought it better to be right
But now I have finally seen the light
Sometimes you've got to be wrong
And learn from mistakes
I live with serenity now
Not self-righteous hate
(Help me be a channel of Thy peace
That where there is hatred, I may bring love;
That where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;
That where there is discord, I may bring harmony;
That where there is error, I may bring truth;
That where there is doubt, I may bring faith)
Now that you can see all you have done
(That where there is despair, I may bring hope;
That where there are shadows, I may bring light)
It's time to take that step into the kingdom
(That where there is sadness, I may bring joy)
All your sins will help to make you strong
(That I may seek rather to comfort, than to be comforted.
That I may seek to understand than to be understood)
And help you break right through the prison wall
(That I may seek to love, rather than to be loved,
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds,
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven)
Keep all of me,
The desires that once burned me deep inside
Help me live today
And help to give me grace
To carry out your way
I am ready, help me be all I can be
I am ready, help guide me and keep me free
I am responsible when anyone, anywhere
Reaches out for help, I want my hand to be there
I am responsible when anyone, anywhere
Reaches out for help, I want my hand to be there
Lyrics submitted by hallowedbe666, edited by Octavarium64
The Shattered Fortress Lyrics as written by John Petrucci John Myung
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
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.
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.
New version up.