"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.
I'm locked inside
A land called foolish price
Where the man is always right
He hates to talk but loves to fight
Is that all right?
On real cold days
He loans us lots of hate
But he says that we must pay
To take it all away
Is that okay?
But I'm asking you will you stay with me
In this land where we are free
And I know it's rough
And you've had enough
But one day we'll be happy
And when I look into the future I see danger in its eyes
Hearts of hatred rule the land while love is left aside
Killing plagues the citizens while music slowly dies
I get frightened, I - see, I get frightened, I
Oh how, oh how I need you baby
To keep me from going crazy
I really need you baby
Need you to stay
Oh how, oh how I love you baby
These people are so crazy
I really need you baby
Need you to stay
She's quick to fight
For her man but not her rights
Even though it's 3005
When will we end this genocide?
And that's not right
Her children cry
No food to eat and her friends as flies
The color black means it's time to die
And nobody questions why
Cause they're too scared to stop the man
But I'm asking you will you stay with me
In this land where we are free
And I know it's rough
And you've had enough
But one day we'll be happy
And when I look into the future I see danger in its eyes
Hearts of hatred rule the land while love is left aside
Killing plagues the citizens while music slowly dies
I get frightened, I - see, I get frightened, I
Oh how, oh how I need you baby
To keep me from going crazy
I really need you baby
Need you to stay
Oh how, oh how I love you baby
These people are so crazy
I really need you baby
Need you to stay
I can make a change
I can start a fire
Lord make me love again
Fill me with desire
I can make a change
I can start a fire
Make me love again
Lord thank You for desire
And when I look into your pretty eyes I almost want to cry
I think about my life and I don't want to live a lie
How I need you baby, I need you right by my side
I need you tonight, I need you tonight
Yeah! How I need you baby
See I can't let you go, I need you
On the other side
On the other side
I love you so and I'll never let you go
On the other side!
A land called foolish price
Where the man is always right
He hates to talk but loves to fight
Is that all right?
On real cold days
He loans us lots of hate
But he says that we must pay
To take it all away
Is that okay?
But I'm asking you will you stay with me
In this land where we are free
And I know it's rough
And you've had enough
But one day we'll be happy
And when I look into the future I see danger in its eyes
Hearts of hatred rule the land while love is left aside
Killing plagues the citizens while music slowly dies
I get frightened, I - see, I get frightened, I
Oh how, oh how I need you baby
To keep me from going crazy
I really need you baby
Need you to stay
Oh how, oh how I love you baby
These people are so crazy
I really need you baby
Need you to stay
She's quick to fight
For her man but not her rights
Even though it's 3005
When will we end this genocide?
And that's not right
Her children cry
No food to eat and her friends as flies
The color black means it's time to die
And nobody questions why
Cause they're too scared to stop the man
But I'm asking you will you stay with me
In this land where we are free
And I know it's rough
And you've had enough
But one day we'll be happy
And when I look into the future I see danger in its eyes
Hearts of hatred rule the land while love is left aside
Killing plagues the citizens while music slowly dies
I get frightened, I - see, I get frightened, I
Oh how, oh how I need you baby
To keep me from going crazy
I really need you baby
Need you to stay
Oh how, oh how I love you baby
These people are so crazy
I really need you baby
Need you to stay
I can make a change
I can start a fire
Lord make me love again
Fill me with desire
I can make a change
I can start a fire
Make me love again
Lord thank You for desire
And when I look into your pretty eyes I almost want to cry
I think about my life and I don't want to live a lie
How I need you baby, I need you right by my side
I need you tonight, I need you tonight
Yeah! How I need you baby
See I can't let you go, I need you
On the other side
On the other side
I love you so and I'll never let you go
On the other side!
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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"
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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/
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.
I always presumed that "the color black means it's time to die" was a reference to Logan's Run, where the crystal in everyone's hand turning black meant your time was up. Presumably the androids in this world are alloted a predetermined lifespan.