"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.
Standin' in the door of the Pink Flamingo cryin' in the rain
It was a kind of so-so love
And I'm gonna make sure it never happens again
You and I, it had to be the standing joke of the year
You were a sleep-around, a lost and found and not for me, I feel
I tried to make it work, you in a cocktail skirt
And me in a suit but it just wasn't me
You're used to wearing less
And now your life's a mess, so insecure you see
I put up with all the scenes
And this is one scene that's goin' to be played my way
Take your hands off me, hey
I don't belong to you, you see
And take a look in my face, for the last time,
I never knew you, you never knew me,
Say hello goodbye,
Say hello and wave goodbye
Under the deep red light
I can see the make-up slidin' down
Hey little girl you will always make up
So take off that unbecoming frown
What about me, well, I'll find someone
That's not goin' cheap in the sales
A nice little housewife, who'll give me a steady life
And won't keep going off the rails
Take your hands off me
I don't belong to you, you see
Take a look in my face, for the last time
I never knew you, you never knew me
Say hello goodbye
Say hello and wave goodbye
We've been involved for quite a while now
And to keep you a secret, has been hell
We're strangers meeting for the first time, ok?
Just smile and say hello
Say hello then wave goodbye
Say hello then wave goodbye
Say hello then wave goodbye
Say hello then wave goodbye
Say hello, wave goodbye
Say hello then wave goodbye
Say hello, say goodbye
Goodbye
Say goodbye
Goodbye
It was a kind of so-so love
And I'm gonna make sure it never happens again
You and I, it had to be the standing joke of the year
You were a sleep-around, a lost and found and not for me, I feel
I tried to make it work, you in a cocktail skirt
And me in a suit but it just wasn't me
You're used to wearing less
And now your life's a mess, so insecure you see
I put up with all the scenes
And this is one scene that's goin' to be played my way
Take your hands off me, hey
I don't belong to you, you see
And take a look in my face, for the last time,
I never knew you, you never knew me,
Say hello goodbye,
Say hello and wave goodbye
Under the deep red light
I can see the make-up slidin' down
Hey little girl you will always make up
So take off that unbecoming frown
What about me, well, I'll find someone
That's not goin' cheap in the sales
A nice little housewife, who'll give me a steady life
And won't keep going off the rails
Take your hands off me
I don't belong to you, you see
Take a look in my face, for the last time
I never knew you, you never knew me
Say hello goodbye
Say hello and wave goodbye
We've been involved for quite a while now
And to keep you a secret, has been hell
We're strangers meeting for the first time, ok?
Just smile and say hello
Say hello then wave goodbye
Say hello then wave goodbye
Say hello then wave goodbye
Say hello then wave goodbye
Say hello, wave goodbye
Say hello then wave goodbye
Say hello, say goodbye
Goodbye
Say goodbye
Goodbye
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Say Hello, Wave Goodbye Lyrics as written by Marc Almond David Ball
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Mountain Song
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Mountain Song
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Blue
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“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.