"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.
The problem is
For many years
I've lived my life
Publicly
So it's hard for me to find a man I trust
I really trust
And everytime I find someone I like
Gotta worry about
If it's really me
That they see
And I thought you were the one, yeah
Deep inside I wish that they could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
Deep inside I wish that they could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
I don't have a lot of friends
And sometimes I have to wonder
Is it cash they see when they look at me
'Cause they're lookin' for a ride that's free
So I made the choice to be
Good to those who are good to me
Don't judge me, don't think I'm bitter
For the evil does allow me to see I'm just Mary
I'm just Mary, just Mary, just Mary
I'm just Mary, just Mary, just Mary
I, I, oh
I'm just Mary, just Mary, just Mary
I'm just Mary, just Mary, just Mary
Deep inside I wish that you could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
Deep inside I wish that you could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
Deep inside I wish that you could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
Deep inside I wish that you could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
It's the car I drive
The clothes I wear
The diamonds, the furs, and the house
Don't make the woman
So I need someone
To stand by me
And supply my needs
And I'm just plain old Mary
Deep inside I wish that you could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
Deep inside I wish that you could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
Deep inside I wish that you could see
Deep inside I wish that you could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
See the problem is
For many years
I've lived my life
Publicly
And everytime I find a man
I, I can't trust him
Oh
For many years
I've lived my life
Publicly
So it's hard for me to find a man I trust
I really trust
And everytime I find someone I like
Gotta worry about
If it's really me
That they see
And I thought you were the one, yeah
Deep inside I wish that they could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
Deep inside I wish that they could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
I don't have a lot of friends
And sometimes I have to wonder
Is it cash they see when they look at me
'Cause they're lookin' for a ride that's free
So I made the choice to be
Good to those who are good to me
Don't judge me, don't think I'm bitter
For the evil does allow me to see I'm just Mary
I'm just Mary, just Mary, just Mary
I'm just Mary, just Mary, just Mary
I, I, oh
I'm just Mary, just Mary, just Mary
I'm just Mary, just Mary, just Mary
Deep inside I wish that you could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
Deep inside I wish that you could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
Deep inside I wish that you could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
Deep inside I wish that you could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
It's the car I drive
The clothes I wear
The diamonds, the furs, and the house
Don't make the woman
So I need someone
To stand by me
And supply my needs
And I'm just plain old Mary
Deep inside I wish that you could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
Deep inside I wish that you could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
Deep inside I wish that you could see
Deep inside I wish that you could see
That I'm just plain ol' Mary, Mary
See the problem is
For many years
I've lived my life
Publicly
And everytime I find a man
I, I can't trust him
Oh
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Deep Inside Lyrics as written by Tara Alesia Geter Mary J. Blige
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
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."
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
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.