"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.
Jumped right into the ocean
Sank straight down, couldn't see the bottom
And we swam so hard, but the current pulled us under
And it swept us in to the fury of the tide
And we reached so far, but our arms were torn asunder
And our heads did spin - I clutched my neck as water flowed inside
Strove up for the surface
But we sank straight down towards the bottom
And we grabbed our hearts whose beating came like thunder
And we could not win, we were so resigned to die
And we swam apart, there I was left to wonder
If my lungs would give - I clutched my neck as water flowed inside
Separated, we two
I was washed on the shores
Of this quiet beach
Looked up at the night sky
Saw the faces of the stars
Kissing the surface with their reflections
And I walked down alone
Along the length of the sand
Bits of shells like teeth
Sinking in with each step
I walked down alone
Wandering there alone
Until my legs could no longer carry me
And this tremendous weight
Collapsed upon the sand
Heard the music of the waves
This shore will bury me
Hold me in its arms
Cradle me in its embrace
Descending, descending further
Until everything goes quiet
And the stars fade into nothing
I will see no more,
Save for the memory of your face
Replaying over in my mind
Here is my new home
This earthen tomb
Until I crawl for the surface and re-emerge anew
Now I've learned to love the tide
That stole our breath and swallowed us whole
Sank straight down, couldn't see the bottom
And we swam so hard, but the current pulled us under
And it swept us in to the fury of the tide
And we reached so far, but our arms were torn asunder
And our heads did spin - I clutched my neck as water flowed inside
Strove up for the surface
But we sank straight down towards the bottom
And we grabbed our hearts whose beating came like thunder
And we could not win, we were so resigned to die
And we swam apart, there I was left to wonder
If my lungs would give - I clutched my neck as water flowed inside
Separated, we two
I was washed on the shores
Of this quiet beach
Looked up at the night sky
Saw the faces of the stars
Kissing the surface with their reflections
And I walked down alone
Along the length of the sand
Bits of shells like teeth
Sinking in with each step
I walked down alone
Wandering there alone
Until my legs could no longer carry me
And this tremendous weight
Collapsed upon the sand
Heard the music of the waves
This shore will bury me
Hold me in its arms
Cradle me in its embrace
Descending, descending further
Until everything goes quiet
And the stars fade into nothing
I will see no more,
Save for the memory of your face
Replaying over in my mind
Here is my new home
This earthen tomb
Until I crawl for the surface and re-emerge anew
Now I've learned to love the tide
That stole our breath and swallowed us whole
Lyrics submitted by marginxxwalker
It's Not About the Money, It's About the Glory! song meanings
Add Your Thoughts
0 Comments
- No Comments
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
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"
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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,
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.