"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.
She said, "How did we get ourselves so lost?"
And I said, "I don't know, but we will not be leaving tonight, tonight
When you hold me I, I feel better"
I only want one night, together in our arms
This is the longest night, we're meeting arms to arms
Nothing is wasted and life is worth living
Heaven is nowhere, just look to the stars
There is a day that is yours for embracing
Everything's nothing, and nothing is ours
Nothing is wasted and life is worth living (I only want one night)
Heaven is nowhere, just look to the stars
There is a day that is yours for embracing (This is the longest night)
Everything's nothing, and nothing is ours
"And maybe if we'd never come this way
Then we would live and prosper
But I doubt it
We are a violent race
and we deserve what we get
When you hold me, when you hold me
I feel better, I feel better"
I only want one night, together in our arms (I feel better)
This is the longest night, we're meeting arms to arms (I feel better)
I only want one night, together in our arms (I feel better)
This is the longest night, we're meeting arms to arms
Nothing is wasted, a life is worth living
Heaven is nowhere just look to the stars
There is a day that is yours for embracing
Everything's nothing, and nothing is ours
Nothing is wasted and life is worth living
Heaven is nowhere, just look to the stars
There is a day that is yours for embracing
Everything's nothing, and nothing is ours
Nothing is wasted, and life is worth living
(I only want one night, together in our arms)
Heaven is nowhere, just look to the stars
There is a day that is yours for embracing
(This is the longest night, we're meeting arms to arms)
Everything's nothing and nothing is ours
Nothing is wasted, a life is worth living
(I only want one night, together in our arms)
Heaven is nowhere, just look to the stars
There is a day that is yours for embracing
(This is the longest night, we're meeting arms to arms)
Everything's nothing, and nothing is ours
And I said, "I don't know, but we will not be leaving tonight, tonight
When you hold me I, I feel better"
I only want one night, together in our arms
This is the longest night, we're meeting arms to arms
Nothing is wasted and life is worth living
Heaven is nowhere, just look to the stars
There is a day that is yours for embracing
Everything's nothing, and nothing is ours
Nothing is wasted and life is worth living (I only want one night)
Heaven is nowhere, just look to the stars
There is a day that is yours for embracing (This is the longest night)
Everything's nothing, and nothing is ours
"And maybe if we'd never come this way
Then we would live and prosper
But I doubt it
We are a violent race
and we deserve what we get
When you hold me, when you hold me
I feel better, I feel better"
I only want one night, together in our arms (I feel better)
This is the longest night, we're meeting arms to arms (I feel better)
I only want one night, together in our arms (I feel better)
This is the longest night, we're meeting arms to arms
Nothing is wasted, a life is worth living
Heaven is nowhere just look to the stars
There is a day that is yours for embracing
Everything's nothing, and nothing is ours
Nothing is wasted and life is worth living
Heaven is nowhere, just look to the stars
There is a day that is yours for embracing
Everything's nothing, and nothing is ours
Nothing is wasted, and life is worth living
(I only want one night, together in our arms)
Heaven is nowhere, just look to the stars
There is a day that is yours for embracing
(This is the longest night, we're meeting arms to arms)
Everything's nothing and nothing is ours
Nothing is wasted, a life is worth living
(I only want one night, together in our arms)
Heaven is nowhere, just look to the stars
There is a day that is yours for embracing
(This is the longest night, we're meeting arms to arms)
Everything's nothing, and nothing is ours
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
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.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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/
Midnight
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Midnight” is a song about finding a love that is so true that it provides a calming feeling through every storm. Ed Sheeran reflects on his good fortunes in landing someone with such peace and support and speaks of not fearing the dark days because he knows they’ll all end in the safety nets of her arms.
“Well, good morning there / What a way to start the day / With everything laid bare,” Ed Sheeran sings in the first verse, enthusiastic to be waking up beside his woman. He apologizes for missing her calls in the second verse and promises to return them because for him, speaking to her is the most important thing. “Well, I get lost inside my head / In this chaos, you’re my calm / And I will find my feet again / ‘Cause еven the worst days of my life will always еnd / At midnight in your arms,” sings Ed Sheeran in the chorus, revelling in his good luck.
To me, it seems like this song is about being faced by a kind of existential crisis or despair, but nevertheless finding comfort in love and hope in the future.
The lyrics seem to be split between a discussion between two (apparent) lovers and a kind of mantra. The split is expressed musically, with the mantra sung fairly typically and the discussion not so much sung as talked through an autotune. More than that, it is very disjointed with many syllables stretched unnaturally. It almost doesn't sound like speech at all, and you really have to pay attention to hear what is being said.
The discussion seems to be about humankind in general. 'She' asks quite plainly how humanity became so "lost", and later there is an elaboration of this (either by 'she' or the other character, it isn't clear) that "we are a violent race" and no matter what path we had taken we would still end up lost.
In what way are we lost? In the discussion we hear of a "violent race" and in the mantra we are told "this is the longest night" (which presumably is a night that lasts forever, which may mean death) and that we are "meeting arms to arms" (if that means weapons). To me this sounds a bit apocalyptic, like we are on the brink or in the process of destroying ourselves. However, the second discusser says that "we will not be leaving tonight", suggesting that rather that we are lost in a kind of violent dark age, and it is this has lead to the despair of the two discussers.
It does not seem to be a perpetual state of violence, however, as night follows day, and day follows night. This could be a reference to a fairly common idea that humanity was once in a 'golden age' of peace and tranquility, but that we have entered an age of violence, suffering and despair. There is also an equally common idea that we will eventually emerge from this state somehow, and this seems to be hinted at in the mantra: "there is a day that is yours for embracing".
Despite this state of 'night', the discussers find comfort in each other - "when you hold me, I feel better" -- perhaps enough to make it through the day again.
The mantra seems reflect certain philosophical and (as someone else mentioned) humanist ideals. For instance, there's no supernatural heaven, but there are the stars which represent aspiration and wonderment. "Everything's nothing and nothing is ours" is a wonderfully paradoxical and layered line than contains too much meaning to go into. "There is a day that's yours for embracing" captures hope in the future and opportunity.
"Nothing is wasted and life is worth living" is not at all clear, especially when you consider the complicated connections between everything, nothing and what is ours. But I think that it's a declaration that, despite the despair of the long night, the day is coming, and until then there is comfort in love.
I have my own understanding of the words "Everything's nothing, and nothing is ours", which may be wrong. However, I'd be interested in your interpretation.