"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.
There were chairs on the rooftops
And coats in the closet
Awaiting the winter
And that was the year
That the trees
Shared their seeds
When the leaves made their way
To the tips and the tops
Of our gutters
And we flew them away
With our handheld
Wind machines
And I swear that we flew away, too
And I swear that we flew away, too
Ooh ooh oh
There was a man in a bed by machines
And a grandmother, strong by his side
And the rings on their fingers announced
"I am yours"
The family awaited the news
In a white-washed waiting room
And they prayed for the miracle
In the absence of a cure
But he flew away, too
He flew away, too
Ooh ooh oh
There's a graveyard three miles away
From the house with the trees
And the trees with the seeds
And I visit your stone in the weeds
And I sing your favorite songs
And the sound of the wind through the trees
Is a spirit that God could not keep
And it comforts my sun
'Til my soul is set free
And I'll fly away, too
I'll fly away, too
Ooh ooh oh
I'll fly away, too
And coats in the closet
Awaiting the winter
And that was the year
That the trees
Shared their seeds
When the leaves made their way
To the tips and the tops
Of our gutters
And we flew them away
With our handheld
Wind machines
And I swear that we flew away, too
And I swear that we flew away, too
Ooh ooh oh
There was a man in a bed by machines
And a grandmother, strong by his side
And the rings on their fingers announced
"I am yours"
The family awaited the news
In a white-washed waiting room
And they prayed for the miracle
In the absence of a cure
But he flew away, too
He flew away, too
Ooh ooh oh
There's a graveyard three miles away
From the house with the trees
And the trees with the seeds
And I visit your stone in the weeds
And I sing your favorite songs
And the sound of the wind through the trees
Is a spirit that God could not keep
And it comforts my sun
'Til my soul is set free
And I'll fly away, too
I'll fly away, too
Ooh ooh oh
I'll fly away, too
Lyrics submitted by bananahero
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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.