"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.
You wait for death to happen
You loot the bloody wrecks
You con the elderly (feebelos?)
Up out they penchant checks
You kick em when they down
You tell them God is coming
You work the lowly souls
Eight-hundred numbers running
You sell what you repossess
You clean them out they nest
You wait for them to try to rest
Then yank it out they chest
You sell them medicine
You make them think they need
You come around the flowers
But you's a dirty weed
Like serpents and snakes
They rattle and bite
Whatever it takes
They get what they like
Always they fake
And know it ain't right
Your money, they make it
Then gone in the night
And make no mistake
They do got a heart
it's blacker than coal
And hard as a rock
don't quiver or shake
When they take and part
And breaking apart
Who swim with the sharks
Pick at the eyes,
pick at the brain
Pick us, your wretchedly
sick and deranged
'Cause you's a vulture
A wicked vulture
Pick at the heart,
pick at the soul
Pick em and drag em
down into your hole
'Cause you's a vulture
A wicked vulture
You cut the fingers off
If there's a ring still on em
Even if they come in cursed
You still want em
You promised big things
Is headed for next year
But then you disappear
As soon as the checks clear
You lash out at the poor
And tell em to give you more
Sell everything off
for the church
Sleep on the floor
You point the juiciest necks
Out to all the vampires
But lurking in the dark
You might get bit by spiders
Lizards and bugs
Flies and mosquitoes
Hookers with drugs
And dirty ass needles
Alleyway cats
Possums and rats
Killers with gats
Attacking with bats
They scums, bums
As anything comes and goes
They pimps
With tons of hoes
Dirty like all of those
I suppose
'Cause wicked's the way
that they chose
Pick at the eyes,
pick at the brain
Pick us, your wretchedly
sick and deranged
'Cause you's a vulture
A wicked vulture
Pick at the heart,
pick at the soul
Pick em and drag em
down into your hole
'Cause you's a vulture
A wicked vulture
Go away doc
Leave him alone
When will he die?
I'll be at home
Who gets his car?
Who gets the crib?
Those are his pills?
I'm popping the lid
I give him a week
What do I get?
Put me in his will
he's moving again
Sign it like him
Cut off that beep
There go his morphine
That shit is sweet
Give me a hit
The preacher called
he's trying to get paid
Who's feeding his dog?
Fuck that dog
it's beeping again
Ohh, that morphine's kicking in
What about his money
He wants the church to have it
How long till he dies
Let's check his wallet
Let's pull the plug
Do you think he can hear?
he's fucking dying
He doesn't care
Like serpents and snakes
They rattle and bite
Whatever it takes
They get what they like
And they gonna hide
And they gonna run
But they're gonna suffer
Some Carnival fun
And make no mistake
They do got a heart
it's blacker than coal
And hard as a rock
They gonna visit
The Carnival grounds
And they gonna perish
We promise you now
Pick at the eyes,
pick at the brain
Pick us, your wretchedly
sick and deranged
'Cause you's a vulture
A wicked vulture
Pick at the heart,
pick at the soul
Pick em and drag em
down into your hole
'Cause you's a vulture
A wicked vulture
Pick at the eyes,
pick at the brain
Pick us, your wretchedly
sick and deranged
'Cause you's a vulture
A wicked vulture
Pick at the heart,
pick at the soul
Pick em and drag em
down into your hole
'Cause you's a vulture
A wicked vulture
You loot the bloody wrecks
You con the elderly (feebelos?)
Up out they penchant checks
You kick em when they down
You tell them God is coming
You work the lowly souls
Eight-hundred numbers running
You sell what you repossess
You clean them out they nest
You wait for them to try to rest
Then yank it out they chest
You sell them medicine
You make them think they need
You come around the flowers
But you's a dirty weed
Like serpents and snakes
They rattle and bite
Whatever it takes
They get what they like
Always they fake
And know it ain't right
Your money, they make it
Then gone in the night
And make no mistake
They do got a heart
it's blacker than coal
And hard as a rock
don't quiver or shake
When they take and part
And breaking apart
Who swim with the sharks
Pick at the eyes,
pick at the brain
Pick us, your wretchedly
sick and deranged
'Cause you's a vulture
A wicked vulture
Pick at the heart,
pick at the soul
Pick em and drag em
down into your hole
'Cause you's a vulture
A wicked vulture
You cut the fingers off
If there's a ring still on em
Even if they come in cursed
You still want em
You promised big things
Is headed for next year
But then you disappear
As soon as the checks clear
You lash out at the poor
And tell em to give you more
Sell everything off
for the church
Sleep on the floor
You point the juiciest necks
Out to all the vampires
But lurking in the dark
You might get bit by spiders
Lizards and bugs
Flies and mosquitoes
Hookers with drugs
And dirty ass needles
Alleyway cats
Possums and rats
Killers with gats
Attacking with bats
They scums, bums
As anything comes and goes
They pimps
With tons of hoes
Dirty like all of those
I suppose
'Cause wicked's the way
that they chose
Pick at the eyes,
pick at the brain
Pick us, your wretchedly
sick and deranged
'Cause you's a vulture
A wicked vulture
Pick at the heart,
pick at the soul
Pick em and drag em
down into your hole
'Cause you's a vulture
A wicked vulture
Go away doc
Leave him alone
When will he die?
I'll be at home
Who gets his car?
Who gets the crib?
Those are his pills?
I'm popping the lid
I give him a week
What do I get?
Put me in his will
he's moving again
Sign it like him
Cut off that beep
There go his morphine
That shit is sweet
Give me a hit
The preacher called
he's trying to get paid
Who's feeding his dog?
Fuck that dog
it's beeping again
Ohh, that morphine's kicking in
What about his money
He wants the church to have it
How long till he dies
Let's check his wallet
Let's pull the plug
Do you think he can hear?
he's fucking dying
He doesn't care
Like serpents and snakes
They rattle and bite
Whatever it takes
They get what they like
And they gonna hide
And they gonna run
But they're gonna suffer
Some Carnival fun
And make no mistake
They do got a heart
it's blacker than coal
And hard as a rock
They gonna visit
The Carnival grounds
And they gonna perish
We promise you now
Pick at the eyes,
pick at the brain
Pick us, your wretchedly
sick and deranged
'Cause you's a vulture
A wicked vulture
Pick at the heart,
pick at the soul
Pick em and drag em
down into your hole
'Cause you's a vulture
A wicked vulture
Pick at the eyes,
pick at the brain
Pick us, your wretchedly
sick and deranged
'Cause you's a vulture
A wicked vulture
Pick at the heart,
pick at the soul
Pick em and drag em
down into your hole
'Cause you's a vulture
A wicked vulture
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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"
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”
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.