"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.
What's happenin'? (What's happenin'?)
Hey, hey
Dis ya boy, Lil Jon (Lil Jon)
BME Click (BME Click)
What's up 40? (What's happenin'?)
What's up Sean Paul? (What's happenin'?)
Hey (hey), now ladies and gentlemen (uh-huh)
It's about that time to (it's about that time)
Turn this thang on out
Now let me see everybody do this
Hey! Let's go! (Hey)
Snap ya fingers, do ya step
You can do it all by yo' self
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Hey, snap ya fingers, do ya step
You can do it all by yo' self
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Let me see you do it (ayy)
(Hey, hey)
Snap ya fingers and then rock wit' it
Do it, do it, do it, do it, gon' drop wit' it
Do a step wit' it, put ya hips wit' it
All my ladies let me see ya put a twist wit' it
You can't do like me, I'm by myself
I do it so good, I don't need nobody else
What's happenin'? What's up?
Got da purp fired up
What's happenin'? What's up?
Got Patrón in my cup
I bop (I bop), I drank (I drank)
I'm on Patrón and purp, I can't think (I can't think)
I'm blown (I'm blown), too gone (too gone)
Don't know how the hell I'm gettin' home
Hey, snap ya fingers, do ya step
You can do it all by yo' self
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Hey, snap ya fingers, do ya step
You can do it all by yo' self
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Let me see you do it (ayy)
(Hey, hey)
Straight from the Bay (Bay), posted in the A (A)
'Bout to hit the club (club), we been mobbin' all day (day)
Drinkin' on some Rossi (Rossi), Jon off Patrón ('trón)
VIP status (status), strapped wit' my chrome (chrome)
Look around the club (club), what do I see? (See)
Everybody rockin' side to side to the beat (beat)
Snappin' they fingers (fingers), bouncin' to the groove (groove)
All by they self (self), that's the new move (move)
Where I'm from (from), we like to go dumb (go dumb)
I'm soakin' up the game (game), I'm seein' how it's done
I ask shawty what they call it, she said, "The Pool Palace" (Palace)
Straight from Bankhead, I said, "You good at it" (good at it)
Do what ya do (do), you and ya crew (crew)
They even got playa's and thugs doin' it too (doin' it too)
The more that I drink (drink), the more it's lookin' smooth (smooth)
I's nothin' to a boss (boss), I can do the sh- too (sh- too) (ooh, ooh)
Hey, snap ya fingers, do ya step
You can do it all by yo' self
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Hey, snap ya fingers, do ya step
You can do it all by yo' self
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Let me see you do it (ayy)
(Hey, hey)
Chillin' in the VIP (VIP), yeah, we get crunk (yeah, crunk)
N- poppin' bottles and these b- gettin' drunk (drunk)
Rollin' up the kush (kush), put it in the air (air)
I'm throwin' up the E's to let em' know we in here, yeah (yeah)
Brand new shoes (shoes), brand new tool (tool, uh)
Pull out the old school, 'cause I'm feelin' real cool (cool, uh)
Yeah, I'm from the A (A), so I'm leanin' and rockin'
Snappin' my fingers, then reachin' for my Glock
Reppin' my block, Straight from the deck (deck)
When you snap ya fingers shawty, gotta jerk ya neck (neck)
Smokin' on the best, we don't wit' that mess (mess)
I bet you can't do it, do it, do it like this
Yeah, I'm back to the track (track), back to the snap (snap)
1, 2 step, then you gotta lean back (back)
Yeah, this is how we do it (do it) in the A town (town)
(And if you ain't know) this how it goes down (down)
Hey, snap ya fingers, do ya step
You can do it all by yo' self
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Hey, snap ya fingers, do ya step
You can do it all by yo' self
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Let me see you do it (ayy)
(Hey, hey)
Hey, hey
Dis ya boy, Lil Jon (Lil Jon)
BME Click (BME Click)
What's up 40? (What's happenin'?)
What's up Sean Paul? (What's happenin'?)
Hey (hey), now ladies and gentlemen (uh-huh)
It's about that time to (it's about that time)
Turn this thang on out
Now let me see everybody do this
Hey! Let's go! (Hey)
Snap ya fingers, do ya step
You can do it all by yo' self
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Hey, snap ya fingers, do ya step
You can do it all by yo' self
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Let me see you do it (ayy)
(Hey, hey)
Snap ya fingers and then rock wit' it
Do it, do it, do it, do it, gon' drop wit' it
Do a step wit' it, put ya hips wit' it
All my ladies let me see ya put a twist wit' it
You can't do like me, I'm by myself
I do it so good, I don't need nobody else
What's happenin'? What's up?
Got da purp fired up
What's happenin'? What's up?
Got Patrón in my cup
I bop (I bop), I drank (I drank)
I'm on Patrón and purp, I can't think (I can't think)
I'm blown (I'm blown), too gone (too gone)
Don't know how the hell I'm gettin' home
Hey, snap ya fingers, do ya step
You can do it all by yo' self
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Hey, snap ya fingers, do ya step
You can do it all by yo' self
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Let me see you do it (ayy)
(Hey, hey)
Straight from the Bay (Bay), posted in the A (A)
'Bout to hit the club (club), we been mobbin' all day (day)
Drinkin' on some Rossi (Rossi), Jon off Patrón ('trón)
VIP status (status), strapped wit' my chrome (chrome)
Look around the club (club), what do I see? (See)
Everybody rockin' side to side to the beat (beat)
Snappin' they fingers (fingers), bouncin' to the groove (groove)
All by they self (self), that's the new move (move)
Where I'm from (from), we like to go dumb (go dumb)
I'm soakin' up the game (game), I'm seein' how it's done
I ask shawty what they call it, she said, "The Pool Palace" (Palace)
Straight from Bankhead, I said, "You good at it" (good at it)
Do what ya do (do), you and ya crew (crew)
They even got playa's and thugs doin' it too (doin' it too)
The more that I drink (drink), the more it's lookin' smooth (smooth)
I's nothin' to a boss (boss), I can do the sh- too (sh- too) (ooh, ooh)
Hey, snap ya fingers, do ya step
You can do it all by yo' self
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Hey, snap ya fingers, do ya step
You can do it all by yo' self
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Let me see you do it (ayy)
(Hey, hey)
Chillin' in the VIP (VIP), yeah, we get crunk (yeah, crunk)
N- poppin' bottles and these b- gettin' drunk (drunk)
Rollin' up the kush (kush), put it in the air (air)
I'm throwin' up the E's to let em' know we in here, yeah (yeah)
Brand new shoes (shoes), brand new tool (tool, uh)
Pull out the old school, 'cause I'm feelin' real cool (cool, uh)
Yeah, I'm from the A (A), so I'm leanin' and rockin'
Snappin' my fingers, then reachin' for my Glock
Reppin' my block, Straight from the deck (deck)
When you snap ya fingers shawty, gotta jerk ya neck (neck)
Smokin' on the best, we don't wit' that mess (mess)
I bet you can't do it, do it, do it like this
Yeah, I'm back to the track (track), back to the snap (snap)
1, 2 step, then you gotta lean back (back)
Yeah, this is how we do it (do it) in the A town (town)
(And if you ain't know) this how it goes down (down)
Hey, snap ya fingers, do ya step
You can do it all by yo' self
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Hey, snap ya fingers, do ya step
You can do it all by yo' self
Let me see you do it (ayy)
Let me see you do it (ayy)
(Hey, hey)
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Snap Yo Fingers Lyrics as written by Earl Stevens Alphonso J. Bailey
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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.
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.
Midnight
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Midnight” is a song about finding a love that is so true that it provides a calming feeling through every storm. Ed Sheeran reflects on his good fortunes in landing someone with such peace and support and speaks of not fearing the dark days because he knows they’ll all end in the safety nets of her arms.
“Well, good morning there / What a way to start the day / With everything laid bare,” Ed Sheeran sings in the first verse, enthusiastic to be waking up beside his woman. He apologizes for missing her calls in the second verse and promises to return them because for him, speaking to her is the most important thing. “Well, I get lost inside my head / In this chaos, you’re my calm / And I will find my feet again / ‘Cause еven the worst days of my life will always еnd / At midnight in your arms,” sings Ed Sheeran in the chorus, revelling in his good luck.