"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 will turn my back on this wall of hands
So I don't have to see
All the names and all of the faces
That make up unanimity
I would prefer for these betrayals
To take place in anonymity
In every crowd on every street I'll pick you out
I'll be thinking well, I guess you had to
But did you have to?
Can I condone those who raise their hands to send me away?
But how can I condemn when I would have done just the same?
Can I call this cowardice or just self-preservation?
If only you could tell me..
How do you distinguish between the wind and the whisper?
It's not the sound, it's the intent
And when the rain just won't stop and I am soaked to my skin
My clothes disintegrating then I will
And when the humiliation has just got too much and I can't stand up straight
Then I will then I will then I will
Can I condone those who raise their hands to send me away?
But how can I condemn when I would have done just the same?
Can I call this cowardice or just self-preservation?
If only you could tell me..
Can I break this wall of hands down to its component parts?
Scratch my name off the list if you if you wouldn't mind
I would do most anything for you to say you're sorry
But that just will not happen.. that just is not going to happen.
So I don't have to see
All the names and all of the faces
That make up unanimity
I would prefer for these betrayals
To take place in anonymity
In every crowd on every street I'll pick you out
I'll be thinking well, I guess you had to
But did you have to?
Can I condone those who raise their hands to send me away?
But how can I condemn when I would have done just the same?
Can I call this cowardice or just self-preservation?
If only you could tell me..
How do you distinguish between the wind and the whisper?
It's not the sound, it's the intent
And when the rain just won't stop and I am soaked to my skin
My clothes disintegrating then I will
And when the humiliation has just got too much and I can't stand up straight
Then I will then I will then I will
Can I condone those who raise their hands to send me away?
But how can I condemn when I would have done just the same?
Can I call this cowardice or just self-preservation?
If only you could tell me..
Can I break this wall of hands down to its component parts?
Scratch my name off the list if you if you wouldn't mind
I would do most anything for you to say you're sorry
But that just will not happen.. that just is not going to happen.
Lyrics submitted by hospitaldrama
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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”
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.