"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.
Every day is an endless train
You've got to ride it to the end of the line
Be a troubleshooter
Blow the bad luck away
And you will make it to your station on time
And you'll find out every trick in the book
And that there's only one way to get things done
You'll find out the only way to the top
Is looking out for number one
I mean you
Keep looking out for number one
Every night is a different game
We gotta work for our fortune and fame
Success is a ladder take a step at a time
And the people will remember your name
Yes, I found out all the tricks of the trade
And that there's only one way
You're gonna get things done
I found out the only way to the top
Is looking out for number one
And that's me
I'm looking out for number one
Every day is an endless train
But I ride it to the end of the line
I'm a real troubleshooter
And I blow it away
No one's gonna get what mine
I found out every trick in the book
And that there's only one way to get things done
I found out the only way to the top
Is looking out for number one
I mean you
Keep looking out for number one
And that's us
Keep looking out for number one
That's me
I'm looking out for number one
You've got to ride it to the end of the line
Be a troubleshooter
Blow the bad luck away
And you will make it to your station on time
And you'll find out every trick in the book
And that there's only one way to get things done
You'll find out the only way to the top
Is looking out for number one
I mean you
Keep looking out for number one
Every night is a different game
We gotta work for our fortune and fame
Success is a ladder take a step at a time
And the people will remember your name
Yes, I found out all the tricks of the trade
And that there's only one way
You're gonna get things done
I found out the only way to the top
Is looking out for number one
And that's me
I'm looking out for number one
Every day is an endless train
But I ride it to the end of the line
I'm a real troubleshooter
And I blow it away
No one's gonna get what mine
I found out every trick in the book
And that there's only one way to get things done
I found out the only way to the top
Is looking out for number one
I mean you
Keep looking out for number one
And that's us
Keep looking out for number one
That's me
I'm looking out for number one
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
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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 brilliant, as are the lyrics. In fact, it's one of the best Rock songs ever written. Randy Bachman wrote a Blues, played w/ a Jazz feel & Jazzy fills, to create a sensation of thoughtfulness...the music literally encourages the listener to contemplate the lyrics...
The lyrics expressed the concept of DUALITY in the face of dog-eat-dog capitalism and the school of hard knocks (Rock and Roll). Learned the hard way through his days in the Guess Who & BTO, Bachman experienced a music industry filled with Lies, Betrayal, Cut-throat contracts, Pressure, Fickleness, Sex, Drugs...Bachman had seen it all and tried to find Balance and Harmony in his life, including leaving the Guess Who at their peak, marrying a Mormon girl and converting to the religion, only to find that it was as big a scam as everything else in society!
The Duality in the lyrics (and hence their brilliance) lay between what one defined as SUCCESS. Fame, Fortune? This was one definition and hence to achieve it you had to look out for #1 by being cut-throat and ruthless. But there's another definition, and that is the ultimate one...Peace and Happiness...to reach this state of mind also required looking out for #1, but not by being ruthless, rather by STICKING TO YOUR IDEALS every step of the way ("success is a ladder take a step at a time"). Being a principled person doesn't mean taking advantage of others, rather, it means not letting others take advantage of you...and in that way "looking out for #1" works not only for the self, but for society...hence his lyrics at the end of the song...
"Is looking out for number one I mean you Keep looking out for number one And that's us Keep looking out for number one That's me I'm looking out for number one"
"You...us...me" we all win by looking out for #1 b/c we remove a world of VICTIMS and replace it with a world of Happiness...and how do victims respond to one another? Distrust, Separation, Suspicion & Doubt. How do Happy people interact? Trust, Connection, Friendship & Generosity.
Thus, Life is only ever a choice in every moment between Love and Fear. Capitalism is a system of Inequality, thus Fear. So when we value things like Fame and Fortune (illusory & temporary) we encourage a world of DIVISION. However, when we learn to value Peace and Happiness over Greed (Love over Gold), we encourage a world of Connection. We begin to see ourselves as ONE species, together, on this beautiful planet, instead of apart. And this world will come to know Peace and Individual expression, instead of war and conformity to the norm!
Haha, such a calm song... My friend always got annoyed when I played it =P
I think the lyrics are sarcastic. It's hard to imagine that a rock band in that anti-establishment era would promote selfishness and working "for our fortune and fame." The guitars and percussion are beautiful. BTO's best song imo.
I love BTO, but I don't really like this song. It's beautiful musically, but the lyrics are horrible...