"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.
No matter how hard
The task may seem
Don't give up our plans
Don't give up our dreams
No broken bridges
Can turn us around
'Cause what we're searchin' for
Will soon be found
[Chorus]
Cause we're almost there
Just one more step
Cause we're almost there
Just one more step
Just one more step
Don't give up
'Cause we're almost all almost there
'Cause we're almost there
Look at the lovers
Look at the lonely lovers
That didn't make it
Life's long hard climb
Life's long hard climb
They just couldn't take it
They just couldn't take it
Don't let it happen to me and you
Hold on together, darlin'
We'll make it through
Darlin', keep on reachin' out for me
Keep on reachin', do it for me
Do it for me, cause baby
[Chorus]
We're so close
I can taste it
A life so sweet
Can't afford to waste it
Can't afford to waste it
Need to feel your hand
Slippin' from mine
Just hold on tighter now, darlin'
Keep on tryin'
[Chorus]
Baby baby, don't give up
'Cause we're almost there)
Keep on, keep on
We're almost there)
Just one more step
'Cause we're almost there)
Cause we're almost there
Just one more step
Cause we're almost there
We've come to far
To turn around
Oh!
Keep on reachin'
For higher ground
We've had our ups and we've had our downs
Let nothin' in the world darlin'
Turn us around
Cause we're almost there
We're almost there
We're almost there
Everything we're lookin' for
We're almost there
Keep on reachin' out for me
Cause we're almost there darlin'
We're almost there
We're almost there darlin'
We're almost there
We're almost there
Ah we're almost there
The task may seem
Don't give up our plans
Don't give up our dreams
No broken bridges
Can turn us around
'Cause what we're searchin' for
Will soon be found
[Chorus]
Cause we're almost there
Just one more step
Cause we're almost there
Just one more step
Just one more step
Don't give up
'Cause we're almost all almost there
'Cause we're almost there
Look at the lovers
Look at the lonely lovers
That didn't make it
Life's long hard climb
Life's long hard climb
They just couldn't take it
They just couldn't take it
Don't let it happen to me and you
Hold on together, darlin'
We'll make it through
Darlin', keep on reachin' out for me
Keep on reachin', do it for me
Do it for me, cause baby
[Chorus]
We're so close
I can taste it
A life so sweet
Can't afford to waste it
Can't afford to waste it
Need to feel your hand
Slippin' from mine
Just hold on tighter now, darlin'
Keep on tryin'
[Chorus]
Baby baby, don't give up
'Cause we're almost there)
Keep on, keep on
We're almost there)
Just one more step
'Cause we're almost there)
Cause we're almost there
Just one more step
Cause we're almost there
We've come to far
To turn around
Oh!
Keep on reachin'
For higher ground
We've had our ups and we've had our downs
Let nothin' in the world darlin'
Turn us around
Cause we're almost there
We're almost there
We're almost there
Everything we're lookin' for
We're almost there
Keep on reachin' out for me
Cause we're almost there darlin'
We're almost there
We're almost there darlin'
We're almost there
We're almost there
Ah we're almost there
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.
Oh wow, this was from Forever, Michael. That album is one of the most underrated ever. It was his last on Motown as a solo artist and it had some pretty amazing songs on it that are rarely heard. This is one of them. It's been sampled before and I think that's about it.
Anyway, this song is kind of self explanatory but I'll try anyway.
His relationship with his partner is getting rough and they feel like its in trouble. Apparently, the other person in the relationship feels like they should just break it off and he's basically telling her that relationships will have times where they are hard but that shouldn't be a reason to give up. He's telling her that they've "come too far" to give up now and the bad times are almost over.