"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.
After another production of “The Flying Dutchman”
I landed in Berlin
Thinking over it over it how can I get over it
And wonder what state I’m in
Sissi was the anarchist empress of Austria
And I was in the same state that she was in
Thinking over it over it how can I get over it
And where the hell’s that fan
After another induction to the hall of famine
I closed the magazine
Thinking over and over it how can I get over it
And be German and mean
Jenny was a pirate and Jane was beheaded and Nina was a sweet nymphomaniac
And with them in my corner I’m sure that it’s a tall order
To find that perfect man
I’m doing all that I can
Trying to make all the roses bloom in unison
Say I’m gonna blow you away
Making all of the roses bloom so step away
Making all of the roses bloom
After another unveiling of the bright red herring
I walked down Rufus Street
Thinking over it over it how can I get over it
And where in the world will I meet
That literary, lean, stripe suited lover
I’ve read about all of my life
Which I fear is a ruse and explains
All the walks through all the parks of Europe
And why I never will tell you “I love you”
And why there is just but
A vision of perfect man
I’m doing all that I can
Making all of the roses bloom in unison
Say I’m gonna blow you away
Making all of the roses bloom so step away
And be dazzled
Making all of the roses bloom
I landed in Berlin
Thinking over it over it how can I get over it
And wonder what state I’m in
Sissi was the anarchist empress of Austria
And I was in the same state that she was in
Thinking over it over it how can I get over it
And where the hell’s that fan
After another induction to the hall of famine
I closed the magazine
Thinking over and over it how can I get over it
And be German and mean
Jenny was a pirate and Jane was beheaded and Nina was a sweet nymphomaniac
And with them in my corner I’m sure that it’s a tall order
To find that perfect man
I’m doing all that I can
Trying to make all the roses bloom in unison
Say I’m gonna blow you away
Making all of the roses bloom so step away
Making all of the roses bloom
After another unveiling of the bright red herring
I walked down Rufus Street
Thinking over it over it how can I get over it
And where in the world will I meet
That literary, lean, stripe suited lover
I’ve read about all of my life
Which I fear is a ruse and explains
All the walks through all the parks of Europe
And why I never will tell you “I love you”
And why there is just but
A vision of perfect man
I’m doing all that I can
Making all of the roses bloom in unison
Say I’m gonna blow you away
Making all of the roses bloom so step away
And be dazzled
Making all of the roses bloom
Lyrics submitted by laynestaleyiscool
Perfect Man Lyrics as written by Rufus Wainwright
Lyrics © 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
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."
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.
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.
Here's a transcription of what Rufus says about the song on the bonus disc of the album: (21:40) "Perfect Man; I've written it for Neil Tennant, actually, from the Pet Shop Boys. He thought it had too many chords in it, which, you know, maybe he was right. But Mark insisted that we keep trying, and now it's, I don't know; there's something about that track, which once again is... He saw a certain brilliance in that. And other people are picking up on it as well. The other thing that's very important about it; it's a lovely opportunity for Martha my sister to sing back-up. She's on every one of my records, except for Lulu. But it does have a lot of chords. There's a lot of chords in that song. And I have to learn them... Again."