"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.
Thinking back to younger days when we were young and free
Ditching out on work to catch the show along the T
Cueballs in our pockets and our hearts were on our sleeves
Watching all the older kids get wild along the stage
Fighting all the bouncers till we put them in their place
Heading out to nowhereville just to fucking play
Spending my days, Living my way
Some say its dead, But I can't forget
Knowing every day could be another stupid fight
Struggling and clawing at the fabric of my life
Cops around the corner want to take away my rights
They could never understand the way it used to be
And they could never know how much it's still that way to me
Cause I'm a fucking lifer and know I'll always be right here,
Right here
Spending my days, Living my way
Some say it's dead, But I can't forget
Deep in my heart right from the start
Old to the new making it through
Looking back on my glory days
Torn up knuckles, bruised up face
I found my home in this violent place
Forge an iron will in hate
Looking back on my glory days
Look ahead see they're here to stay
Live a dream - takes it all the way
And be grateful every day
Never dwell on the harder days
Learn my lessons from mistakes
Every day's a glory day when you
Stand by the values and refused to fade away
I can't be stopped
We can't be dropped
I'm just too strong
I see it so clear and I know we can't be wrong!
Ditching out on work to catch the show along the T
Cueballs in our pockets and our hearts were on our sleeves
Watching all the older kids get wild along the stage
Fighting all the bouncers till we put them in their place
Heading out to nowhereville just to fucking play
Spending my days, Living my way
Some say its dead, But I can't forget
Knowing every day could be another stupid fight
Struggling and clawing at the fabric of my life
Cops around the corner want to take away my rights
They could never understand the way it used to be
And they could never know how much it's still that way to me
Cause I'm a fucking lifer and know I'll always be right here,
Right here
Spending my days, Living my way
Some say it's dead, But I can't forget
Deep in my heart right from the start
Old to the new making it through
Looking back on my glory days
Torn up knuckles, bruised up face
I found my home in this violent place
Forge an iron will in hate
Looking back on my glory days
Look ahead see they're here to stay
Live a dream - takes it all the way
And be grateful every day
Never dwell on the harder days
Learn my lessons from mistakes
Every day's a glory day when you
Stand by the values and refused to fade away
I can't be stopped
We can't be dropped
I'm just too strong
I see it so clear and I know we can't be wrong!
Lyrics submitted by JackH83
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
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.