"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.
Half a mile to the iron turnstile and you're swept into the herd
This is the trickster's instinct, this is the bitch's creed
Caught in the crush, you jostle and push, 'til the coppers give the word
Through the gate in a crazy late stampede
Stand by yourself as your ribs break and you suffocate
Like soldiers in the trenches, like chickens in the pen
Stand by yourself, shut your fucking prattle mate
Just sing your song, you'll never walk again
Riding the train in the fine spring rain, off to the city lights
Hiding behind your paper, checking the latest price
But the driver's working round the clock, it's old and battered rolling stock
You're heading up the junction and tearing out of sight
Stand by yourself as the engines crash and the windows smash
Crawl on the ceiling, cling to the racks, make for the open air
Stand by yourself, bodies laid out on the grass
Kneel and whisper in their ears and tell them how you care
Summer in the city, terror in the air
They went to hunt some desert rats, but now they're crawling over here
Send for the real Inspector Hound, there's trouble on the underground
Mind the gap before you disappear
Stand by yourself as the hands slip and the packs blow up
People turn to effigies and still the cold eyes stare
Stand by yourself, see the sights from an open top
Salute the pregnant torso in the square
You're growing old and sick now, you're a burden to your wife
There are things they need to fix now under the surgeon's knife
But as you dream beneath the mask, invisible armies are on the march
They're digging trenches in your flesh and threatening your life
Stand by yourself, they say one leg is better than none
But now you haven't any it's not much use to you
Stand by yourself, it's all about the resistance, son
Little for the many, plenty for the few
Stand by yourself as chickens all come home to roost
Falling with the fever, burning on the pyre
Stand by yourself, ladies and gentlemen drink a toast
To those who feed the flames, and those caught in the fire.
This is the trickster's instinct, this is the bitch's creed
Caught in the crush, you jostle and push, 'til the coppers give the word
Through the gate in a crazy late stampede
Stand by yourself as your ribs break and you suffocate
Like soldiers in the trenches, like chickens in the pen
Stand by yourself, shut your fucking prattle mate
Just sing your song, you'll never walk again
Riding the train in the fine spring rain, off to the city lights
Hiding behind your paper, checking the latest price
But the driver's working round the clock, it's old and battered rolling stock
You're heading up the junction and tearing out of sight
Stand by yourself as the engines crash and the windows smash
Crawl on the ceiling, cling to the racks, make for the open air
Stand by yourself, bodies laid out on the grass
Kneel and whisper in their ears and tell them how you care
Summer in the city, terror in the air
They went to hunt some desert rats, but now they're crawling over here
Send for the real Inspector Hound, there's trouble on the underground
Mind the gap before you disappear
Stand by yourself as the hands slip and the packs blow up
People turn to effigies and still the cold eyes stare
Stand by yourself, see the sights from an open top
Salute the pregnant torso in the square
You're growing old and sick now, you're a burden to your wife
There are things they need to fix now under the surgeon's knife
But as you dream beneath the mask, invisible armies are on the march
They're digging trenches in your flesh and threatening your life
Stand by yourself, they say one leg is better than none
But now you haven't any it's not much use to you
Stand by yourself, it's all about the resistance, son
Little for the many, plenty for the few
Stand by yourself as chickens all come home to roost
Falling with the fever, burning on the pyre
Stand by yourself, ladies and gentlemen drink a toast
To those who feed the flames, and those caught in the fire.
Lyrics submitted by Rohful
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.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.