"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.
Somebody's gonna give you a lesson in leavin'
Somebody's gonna give you back what you've been givin'
And I hope that I'm around
To watch 'em knock you down
It's like you to love 'em and leave 'em
Just like you loved me and left me
It's like you to do that sort of thing, over and over again
You're a fool-hearted man
I hear you've been askin' about me
From some of my friends
Well, you'd better believe
I'm not goin' through that again
You're the kind of man
A woman thinks she can change
Oh, but the only thing changin' is my way of thinkin'
And I'm thinkin' that maybe someday
Somebody's gonna give you a lesson in losin'
Somebody's gonna do to you what you've been doin'
And I hope that I'm around
To watch 'em knock you down
Somebody's gonna give you a lesson in hurtin'
Somebody's gonna leave you with your fire burnin'
And no way to put it out, baby, there ain't no doubt
You're a fool-hearted man
Yeah, you're the kind of man
A woman thinks she can change
But the only thing changin' is my way of thinkin'
And I'm thinkin' that maybe someday
Somebody's gonna give you a lesson in leavin'
Somebody's gonna give you back what you've been givin'
And I hope that I'm around
To watch 'em knock you down
It's like you to love 'em and leave 'em
Just like you loved me and left me
It's like you to do that sort of thing, over and over again
You're a fool-hearted man
Somebody's gonna give you a lesson in leavin'
Somebody's gonna give you back what you've been givin'
And I hope that I'm around
To watch 'em knock you down
Ohh, it's like you to love 'em and leave 'em
Just like you loved me and left me
It's like you to do that sort of thing, over and over again
You're a fool-hearted man
Oh, a fool-hearted man
Oh, whoa
Oh, a fool-hearted man
Oh, whoa
Oh, a fool-hearted man
Somebody's gonna give you back what you've been givin'
And I hope that I'm around
To watch 'em knock you down
It's like you to love 'em and leave 'em
Just like you loved me and left me
It's like you to do that sort of thing, over and over again
You're a fool-hearted man
I hear you've been askin' about me
From some of my friends
Well, you'd better believe
I'm not goin' through that again
You're the kind of man
A woman thinks she can change
Oh, but the only thing changin' is my way of thinkin'
And I'm thinkin' that maybe someday
Somebody's gonna give you a lesson in losin'
Somebody's gonna do to you what you've been doin'
And I hope that I'm around
To watch 'em knock you down
Somebody's gonna give you a lesson in hurtin'
Somebody's gonna leave you with your fire burnin'
And no way to put it out, baby, there ain't no doubt
You're a fool-hearted man
Yeah, you're the kind of man
A woman thinks she can change
But the only thing changin' is my way of thinkin'
And I'm thinkin' that maybe someday
Somebody's gonna give you a lesson in leavin'
Somebody's gonna give you back what you've been givin'
And I hope that I'm around
To watch 'em knock you down
It's like you to love 'em and leave 'em
Just like you loved me and left me
It's like you to do that sort of thing, over and over again
You're a fool-hearted man
Somebody's gonna give you a lesson in leavin'
Somebody's gonna give you back what you've been givin'
And I hope that I'm around
To watch 'em knock you down
Ohh, it's like you to love 'em and leave 'em
Just like you loved me and left me
It's like you to do that sort of thing, over and over again
You're a fool-hearted man
Oh, a fool-hearted man
Oh, whoa
Oh, a fool-hearted man
Oh, whoa
Oh, a fool-hearted man
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Lesson In Leavin' Lyrics as written by Randy Goodrum Brent Maher
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.