"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 don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Do you hear me?
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Don't give me degeneration
Give me true communication
Don't give me sorrow
I want equal opportunity
To live tomorrow
Give me schools
And give me better books
So I can read about myself
And gain my truly looks
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Do you hear me now, now?
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Some of us try
As hard as we can
We don't want no sympathy
We just wanna be a man
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Do you hear me?
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
We got talents we can use
On our side of town
Let's get our heads together
And get it up from the ground
When some of us make money
People hear about our people
Gotta grab out a honey
Forget about honey
Do you now, let me hear, hey
Come on, I got to have it
Come on, I need it
I got to have it, come on
I got to have it, oh, ha
Lordy, Lordy, Lordy
Lordy, Lordy, Lordy
Play with your bad self
Come on, baby
Come here
Gotta get it
Got to get myself together
So many things I got to do
So many things I got to do
I don't need no help from you
Tell everybody, everybody else
All of these things, baby
I got to do it myself
Come on, hey
I got to have it
I said I, said I
Said I, said I, I
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
With you I'll sweat and bleed
To put out any fire and block off every plug
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Do you hear me?
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
I'm not gonna tell
You what to do
I'm not gonna raise a fuss
But before you make another move
Let's start by taking care of us
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Do you hear me?
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Kids, get that education
And don't you take no more
'Cause if we gonna get
This thing together
Then you got to carry the ball
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
Open up the door
Open up the door
Open up the door
Open up the door
Hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Can you dig the groove?
Can you make the move?
Can you dig the say?
Can you make the pay?
Dig the groove?
Can you dig it?
Tell me, can you dig it?
Tell me, can you?
Come on now, come on now
Come on, come on, come on
Come on
Come on, all right
Come on, fly
Hey, hey, hey
Lord, have mercy
I got to have it
Got to have it
I got to have it
Don't need no cupid
Don't be no stupid
Come on
We, we don't have time to hate
We need all the time we got
To try to communicate
Come on
Lordy, Lordy, Lordy, Lordy
Baby, baby, baby, baby
How can I get myself together
When you keep on packing your bag?
How can I get myself together
When you keep on packing your bag?
How can I get myself together
When you keep on packing your bag?
How can I get myself together
When you keep on packing your bag?
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Oh, no, no, no, no
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
I'm not gonna tell you what to do
I'm not gonna raise a fuss
But before you make another move
Let's start by taking care of us
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Kids, get that education
And don't you take no more
'Cause if we gonna get
This thing together
Then you got to carry the ball
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door, open
Open up the door
Open up the door, hit it
Open up, here I come
Open up and let a man come in
Open up, let a man come in
Open up, let a man come in
Here I come, here I come
I'm comin' in any type of weather
Comin' 'cause I got myself together
Open up, open up, open up, up
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Do you hear me?
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Don't give me degeneration
Give me true communication
Don't give me sorrow
I want equal opportunity
To live tomorrow
Give me schools
And give me better books
So I can read about myself
And gain my truly looks
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Do you hear me now, now?
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Some of us try
As hard as we can
We don't want no sympathy
We just wanna be a man
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Do you hear me?
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
We got talents we can use
On our side of town
Let's get our heads together
And get it up from the ground
When some of us make money
People hear about our people
Gotta grab out a honey
Forget about honey
Do you now, let me hear, hey
Come on, I got to have it
Come on, I need it
I got to have it, come on
I got to have it, oh, ha
Lordy, Lordy, Lordy
Lordy, Lordy, Lordy
Play with your bad self
Come on, baby
Come here
Gotta get it
Got to get myself together
So many things I got to do
So many things I got to do
I don't need no help from you
Tell everybody, everybody else
All of these things, baby
I got to do it myself
Come on, hey
I got to have it
I said I, said I
Said I, said I, I
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
With you I'll sweat and bleed
To put out any fire and block off every plug
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Do you hear me?
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
I'm not gonna tell
You what to do
I'm not gonna raise a fuss
But before you make another move
Let's start by taking care of us
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Do you hear me?
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Kids, get that education
And don't you take no more
'Cause if we gonna get
This thing together
Then you got to carry the ball
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
Open up the door
Open up the door
Open up the door
Open up the door
Hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Can you dig the groove?
Can you make the move?
Can you dig the say?
Can you make the pay?
Dig the groove?
Can you dig it?
Tell me, can you dig it?
Tell me, can you?
Come on now, come on now
Come on, come on, come on
Come on
Come on, all right
Come on, fly
Hey, hey, hey
Lord, have mercy
I got to have it
Got to have it
I got to have it
Don't need no cupid
Don't be no stupid
Come on
We, we don't have time to hate
We need all the time we got
To try to communicate
Come on
Lordy, Lordy, Lordy, Lordy
Baby, baby, baby, baby
How can I get myself together
When you keep on packing your bag?
How can I get myself together
When you keep on packing your bag?
How can I get myself together
When you keep on packing your bag?
How can I get myself together
When you keep on packing your bag?
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Oh, no, no, no, no
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
I'm not gonna tell you what to do
I'm not gonna raise a fuss
But before you make another move
Let's start by taking care of us
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Kids, get that education
And don't you take no more
'Cause if we gonna get
This thing together
Then you got to carry the ball
I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door, open
Open up the door
Open up the door, hit it
Open up, here I come
Open up and let a man come in
Open up, let a man come in
Open up, let a man come in
Here I come, here I come
I'm comin' in any type of weather
Comin' 'cause I got myself together
Open up, open up, open up, up
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open Up the Door, I'll Get ...) Lyrics as written by James Brown
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Sentric Music, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open Up the Door, I'll Get It Myself) song meanings
Add Your Thoughts
1 Comment
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
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
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
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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."
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
Self-explanatory - but if I were him, talking to the "kids", I would have stressed self-education (a la the sleevenote to "Hungry Freaks Daddy"), because we all know that state education (the compulsory/formalised kind) is inherently destructive and abusive. (To educate yourself of course you need confidence in your own intuitive self-knowledge - something that for many people is broken irreparably, early in life, by both state education and the psychological abuses perpetrated by their parents).