"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've got a fast life and
A slow cuttin' knife
I've been drinkin' at a poisoned well
No home and a bag of bones
And nothin' else left to sell
I know why I'm in this hell
I just don't wanna believe
Past that line you just can't tell
But right now
There's someone lookin' out for me
I came out of the darkness
With a bullet in my hand
I got one more shot at livin'
I'm lucky that I can
Cause I got a little roughed up
Yeah I really got fucked up
I came out of the darkness
With a bullet in my hand
I got a cold stare, the wound's still there
But there ain't much left to bleed
A short fuse that I still use
I'm my own worst enemy
Stare at the faces I once knew lined up just to bury me
There's a long black car that's waitin' to leave
But right now
There's someone looking out for me
I came out of the darkness
With a bullet in my hand
I got one more shot at livin'
I'm lucky that I can
Cause I got a little roughed up
Yeah I really got fucked up
I came out of the darkness
With a bullet in my hand
Cause I got a little roughed up
With a bullet in my hand
Yeah I really got fucked up
With a bullet in my hand
Can you see the light?
Can you see the light?
Can you see the light?
I can see the light
I can see the light
There's someone looking out for me
I came out of the darkness
With a bullet in my hand
I got one more shot at livin'
I'm lucky that I can
Cause I got a little roughed up
Yeah I really got fucked up
I came out of the darkness
With a bullet in my hand
A slow cuttin' knife
I've been drinkin' at a poisoned well
No home and a bag of bones
And nothin' else left to sell
I know why I'm in this hell
I just don't wanna believe
Past that line you just can't tell
But right now
There's someone lookin' out for me
I came out of the darkness
With a bullet in my hand
I got one more shot at livin'
I'm lucky that I can
Cause I got a little roughed up
Yeah I really got fucked up
I came out of the darkness
With a bullet in my hand
I got a cold stare, the wound's still there
But there ain't much left to bleed
A short fuse that I still use
I'm my own worst enemy
Stare at the faces I once knew lined up just to bury me
There's a long black car that's waitin' to leave
But right now
There's someone looking out for me
I came out of the darkness
With a bullet in my hand
I got one more shot at livin'
I'm lucky that I can
Cause I got a little roughed up
Yeah I really got fucked up
I came out of the darkness
With a bullet in my hand
Cause I got a little roughed up
With a bullet in my hand
Yeah I really got fucked up
With a bullet in my hand
Can you see the light?
Can you see the light?
Can you see the light?
I can see the light
I can see the light
There's someone looking out for me
I came out of the darkness
With a bullet in my hand
I got one more shot at livin'
I'm lucky that I can
Cause I got a little roughed up
Yeah I really got fucked up
I came out of the darkness
With a bullet in my hand
Lyrics submitted by Oheric2012
Bullet in My Hand Lyrics as written by Wally Gagel Thomas Salter
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Walt Disney Music Company, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
The song is about getting another chance. The darkness is his low point... Someone looking out for him may be God or another spiritual belief. Or perhaps, even a loved one who helped him see "the light".
Personally I think the song is about a drug addict hitting rock bottom and getting another chance at life and realizing he is lucky to be alive and grateful to have somebody/thing helping him see his wrongs.