"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.
Your brown eyes are my blue skies.
They light up the rivers that the birds fly over.
Better not to quench your thirst.
Better not to be the first one diving in,
Though you caught me and you know why
You breathe in the deepest part of the water.
What's the matter? You hurt yourself?
Open your eyes and there was someone else
Now I've got you in the undertow.
Now I've got you in the undertow.
Why you wanna blame me for your troubles?
Ah ah ah you better learn your lesson yourself.
Nobody ever has to find out what's in my mind tonight.
Let tonight pass us by.
Do you really want to be the one to fight?
And I said "You're better not to light that fire.
It will take you to the darkest part of the weather."
What's the matter? You hurt yourself?
Open your eyes and there was someone else
Now I've got you in the undertow.
Now I've got you in the undertow.
Why you wanna blame me for your troubles?
Ah ah ah you better learn your lesson yourself.
Nobody ever has to find out what's in my mind tonight.
Nobody ever has to find out what's in my mind tonight.
Nobody in my mind. Nobody in my mind.
I feel it in my heart tonight.
I lay on the floor, pressing in my eyes.
Seeing little lights.
Please light these decisions that only one could make
I wanted to stay home but I went running running running running from the troubles
Running running running running from the troubles
Running running running running from the troubles
Running, running, running...
What's the matter? You hurt yourself?
Opened your eyes and there was someone else?
Now I've got you in the undertow
Now I've got you so
Why you wanna blame me for your troubles?
Ah ah ah you better learn your lesson yourself.
Nobody ever has to find out what's in my mind tonight.
I went running running running running from the troubles
Running, running, running...
They light up the rivers that the birds fly over.
Better not to quench your thirst.
Better not to be the first one diving in,
Though you caught me and you know why
You breathe in the deepest part of the water.
What's the matter? You hurt yourself?
Open your eyes and there was someone else
Now I've got you in the undertow.
Now I've got you in the undertow.
Why you wanna blame me for your troubles?
Ah ah ah you better learn your lesson yourself.
Nobody ever has to find out what's in my mind tonight.
Let tonight pass us by.
Do you really want to be the one to fight?
And I said "You're better not to light that fire.
It will take you to the darkest part of the weather."
What's the matter? You hurt yourself?
Open your eyes and there was someone else
Now I've got you in the undertow.
Now I've got you in the undertow.
Why you wanna blame me for your troubles?
Ah ah ah you better learn your lesson yourself.
Nobody ever has to find out what's in my mind tonight.
Nobody ever has to find out what's in my mind tonight.
Nobody in my mind. Nobody in my mind.
I feel it in my heart tonight.
I lay on the floor, pressing in my eyes.
Seeing little lights.
Please light these decisions that only one could make
I wanted to stay home but I went running running running running from the troubles
Running running running running from the troubles
Running running running running from the troubles
Running, running, running...
What's the matter? You hurt yourself?
Opened your eyes and there was someone else?
Now I've got you in the undertow
Now I've got you so
Why you wanna blame me for your troubles?
Ah ah ah you better learn your lesson yourself.
Nobody ever has to find out what's in my mind tonight.
I went running running running running from the troubles
Running, running, running...
Lyrics submitted by kittenchowmein
Undertow Lyrics as written by Jennifer Lee Lindberg Emily Camille Kokal
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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Little bit of a tweaked repost from something I posted in a comments section elsewhere:
Personally I think Undertow is close to the culminativÂe point in the album where, having being introduced to the vibe, the feel, the overall sound and atmosphere of The Fool by "Set Your Arms Down", and then drawn into the web by "Warpaint", deep into the web, you find yourself captivatedÂ, hitting the peak of the musical experience so to speak. Sure, you could just stop listening right now.. but why would you possibly want to? Now she's got you in the Undertow, you're trapped. The realisatioÂn of this fact is then enforced by the lyric "Why you wanna blame me for your troubles? You better learn your lesson yourself", you can leave anytime you like, but something is compelling you to stay, to ride out the journey. It's not her fault, you got yourself into this, you started this and now you're going to have to stick it out, but you'll be all the better for it in the long run.
Personally, I rarely find a proper literal lyrical meaning in music, particularly with music like Warpaint. I tend to think of the meaning behind a song as the emotion and vibe it portrays, the way it makes you feel. The lyrics often reinforce the 'meaning' behind the song, however there is so much more that goes into it. If the artist could put what they feel, what they mean, what they want to express into words, they would have done so instead of making an album.
I wrote another whole paragraph here before I realised all I had done it confuse myself trying to define this music through words. The funny thing about words for all their merits, is how useless they are for describing things. 'real' things, whatever I mean by that.