"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.
There I was, a Prophet of God
I didn't want to go explain to them Gods mercy
I had my reasons
I said, hey man have you got a ticket to Tarshish
That was the first mistake
I was spending my money on something God didn't want me to
It all boils down to disobedience you know
All that God had asked of me, was that I warn them all to flee
To flee from the Wrath to Come, but I wouldn't, man I was dumb
What if it had not been done for me, and I went off to flee
To Tarshish to leave them dead, and what I thought inside my head was
God can't find me now
And then it came, a gnarly storm
I knew it was God
I told the sailors, throw me over
And they said What?
I thought, man if it were Christians they probably wouldn't hesitate
And they said, No man, were going to help you out
And I said, hey man, it's God, throw me over
Into death I went, God's mercy alone could save my neck
I'll tell you man, I don't deserve it, that is Grace, you'd better learn it
Dead but on the third day, resurrected, a sign, catch it man
But on the way, into the death, this is what I prayed and said
God please find me now
Mercy and Grace
This is what God wants from you and me
Love acceptance and forgiveness
As he did for us, you see I was dead
Mercy and Grace
He's a God of second chances
Don't be out of the will
I didn't want to go explain to them Gods mercy
I had my reasons
I said, hey man have you got a ticket to Tarshish
That was the first mistake
I was spending my money on something God didn't want me to
It all boils down to disobedience you know
All that God had asked of me, was that I warn them all to flee
To flee from the Wrath to Come, but I wouldn't, man I was dumb
What if it had not been done for me, and I went off to flee
To Tarshish to leave them dead, and what I thought inside my head was
God can't find me now
And then it came, a gnarly storm
I knew it was God
I told the sailors, throw me over
And they said What?
I thought, man if it were Christians they probably wouldn't hesitate
And they said, No man, were going to help you out
And I said, hey man, it's God, throw me over
Into death I went, God's mercy alone could save my neck
I'll tell you man, I don't deserve it, that is Grace, you'd better learn it
Dead but on the third day, resurrected, a sign, catch it man
But on the way, into the death, this is what I prayed and said
God please find me now
Mercy and Grace
This is what God wants from you and me
Love acceptance and forgiveness
As he did for us, you see I was dead
Mercy and Grace
He's a God of second chances
Don't be out of the will
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Holiday
Bee Gees
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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Plastic Bag
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“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.