"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.
Sometimes red curtains fall
Before the act has headed for the wings
As on that night disaster crawled out from the stalls...
Suddenly the dark, the thickest Stygian dark
Pressing on all sides with vertigo
Running from the quickest in the sickest abyss
My spirit's lifted by an angel of woe
A dredged up dreadful past
Drags discordant thoughts my way
Unforgiven and driven to despair
I sense the mordant wraith Azazel
Standing there
Now the vision simmers
I spy a distant gleam
Racing ever closer
Through this persistent dream
And by its welcome glimmer
Writhing into sight
The brutish groping nightmares
That hide beside the light
Then a roar
And a voice like a pride of lions
Thunders from the maw
In a blackened mass
The creatures flee
Screaming bloody murder as
A shining gateway opens for me
Death, the great adventure
At the peril of my soul
I welcome death, the great avenger
Spared this awful realm
Where those who stalk the living haunt the murk
Untethered pleasures keep them tied to flawed
Humana
I'm floating upward still, to where the tunnel mouth reveals
Two Manitcores that ward an ebon door
I muster that resolve, as the luminance dissolves
And I am thrust headlong before their venomous jaws
I am in darkness again
But here accursedness is vastly deeper
Unforgiven and given to torment
I am nothing
Grotesque, grotesque, bereft of judgment
This abyss, a voice
Where stripped of all but Self
One must wish to be destroyed
To pass on somewhere else
Beyond this pit of wicked shouts
Madness and fallacies
Aeons I failed to rail my doubts
Before fear left love saving me
Then a roar
And a voice like the clash of Titans
Thunders from the maw
In a seething mass
The horrors flee
Screaming bloody murder as
A shrouded sky opens immensely
Listen!
What Eden shall arise
Abundant from the cliffs that stunt Hell's repundant cries?
A view of breathtaking beauty
Unveils, as the sun disperses
Perversities
Death, the great adventure
For the glory of my soul
I welcome death, the great avenger
The damaged man revies
With dawning truth, this morning suits
The world I left abruptly
In exaltation, I find myself alive
Near-death to steer a life long-led corruptly
The sweet silver chord that keeps me moored
I know that heaven sent her
From the cold to hold her face again
I rose from death, the great adventure
Before the act has headed for the wings
As on that night disaster crawled out from the stalls...
Suddenly the dark, the thickest Stygian dark
Pressing on all sides with vertigo
Running from the quickest in the sickest abyss
My spirit's lifted by an angel of woe
A dredged up dreadful past
Drags discordant thoughts my way
Unforgiven and driven to despair
I sense the mordant wraith Azazel
Standing there
Now the vision simmers
I spy a distant gleam
Racing ever closer
Through this persistent dream
And by its welcome glimmer
Writhing into sight
The brutish groping nightmares
That hide beside the light
Then a roar
And a voice like a pride of lions
Thunders from the maw
In a blackened mass
The creatures flee
Screaming bloody murder as
A shining gateway opens for me
Death, the great adventure
At the peril of my soul
I welcome death, the great avenger
Spared this awful realm
Where those who stalk the living haunt the murk
Untethered pleasures keep them tied to flawed
Humana
I'm floating upward still, to where the tunnel mouth reveals
Two Manitcores that ward an ebon door
I muster that resolve, as the luminance dissolves
And I am thrust headlong before their venomous jaws
I am in darkness again
But here accursedness is vastly deeper
Unforgiven and given to torment
I am nothing
Grotesque, grotesque, bereft of judgment
This abyss, a voice
Where stripped of all but Self
One must wish to be destroyed
To pass on somewhere else
Beyond this pit of wicked shouts
Madness and fallacies
Aeons I failed to rail my doubts
Before fear left love saving me
Then a roar
And a voice like the clash of Titans
Thunders from the maw
In a seething mass
The horrors flee
Screaming bloody murder as
A shrouded sky opens immensely
Listen!
What Eden shall arise
Abundant from the cliffs that stunt Hell's repundant cries?
A view of breathtaking beauty
Unveils, as the sun disperses
Perversities
Death, the great adventure
For the glory of my soul
I welcome death, the great avenger
The damaged man revies
With dawning truth, this morning suits
The world I left abruptly
In exaltation, I find myself alive
Near-death to steer a life long-led corruptly
The sweet silver chord that keeps me moored
I know that heaven sent her
From the cold to hold her face again
I rose from death, the great adventure
Lyrics submitted by 1023394
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
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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.
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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.