"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.
North into the icy gale
The whale, the fish, are leading us astray
Down below, the darkest green
I've seen a world my courage will betray
Waves are crashing, rising to the sky
Dancing with my soul, my head held high
A waking dream swept over me
"Be free," it whispered, "Drift out with the tide
Open up the gates, untie the rope
In hope of finding who's inside"
Clouds are rolling in, my heart beats strong
Thunder, like the rhythm to my song
Whichever way the road shows me
I know the wind will blow me home
A thousand miles, a life at sea
But I will never be alone
Between the devil and the deep
I seek a truth, maybe it is seeking me
And when I see the end, my friend
I know exactly where I want to be
The wind is calling, whispering to me
Singing with the chorus of the sea
Oh, whichever way the road shows me
I know the wind will blow me home
A thousand miles, a life at sea
But I will never be alone
Home, home
Home, home
Home, home
Home, home
(I will never be alone) Home, home
Home, home
(No, I will never be alone) Home, home
Home, home
(No, I will never be alone)
Oh, whichever way the road shows me
I know the wind will blow me home
A thousand miles, a life at sea
But I will never be alone
Well, I know you and who you are
A star, a constellation far above
And I am just a traveler
A gatherer of everything I love
The sun is falling, fading out of sight
The fire inside will guide me through the night
Oh, whichever way the road shows me
I know the wind will blow me home
A thousand miles, a life at sea
But I will never be alone
Yeah, whichever way the road shows me
I know the wind will blow me home
A thousand miles, a life at sea
But I will never be alone
I will never be alone
No, I will never be alone
I will never be alone
The whale, the fish, are leading us astray
Down below, the darkest green
I've seen a world my courage will betray
Waves are crashing, rising to the sky
Dancing with my soul, my head held high
A waking dream swept over me
"Be free," it whispered, "Drift out with the tide
Open up the gates, untie the rope
In hope of finding who's inside"
Clouds are rolling in, my heart beats strong
Thunder, like the rhythm to my song
Whichever way the road shows me
I know the wind will blow me home
A thousand miles, a life at sea
But I will never be alone
Between the devil and the deep
I seek a truth, maybe it is seeking me
And when I see the end, my friend
I know exactly where I want to be
The wind is calling, whispering to me
Singing with the chorus of the sea
Oh, whichever way the road shows me
I know the wind will blow me home
A thousand miles, a life at sea
But I will never be alone
Home, home
Home, home
Home, home
Home, home
(I will never be alone) Home, home
Home, home
(No, I will never be alone) Home, home
Home, home
(No, I will never be alone)
Oh, whichever way the road shows me
I know the wind will blow me home
A thousand miles, a life at sea
But I will never be alone
Well, I know you and who you are
A star, a constellation far above
And I am just a traveler
A gatherer of everything I love
The sun is falling, fading out of sight
The fire inside will guide me through the night
Oh, whichever way the road shows me
I know the wind will blow me home
A thousand miles, a life at sea
But I will never be alone
Yeah, whichever way the road shows me
I know the wind will blow me home
A thousand miles, a life at sea
But I will never be alone
I will never be alone
No, I will never be alone
I will never be alone
Lyrics submitted by nikkus34
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
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"
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.
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.