"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.
People are people, so why should it be?
You and I should get along so awfully
People are people, so why should it be?
You and I should get along so awfully
So we're different colors, and we're different breeds
And different people, have different needs
It's obvious you hate me, though I've done nothing wrong
I've never even met you, so what could I have done?
I can't understand
What makes a man hate another man?
Help me understand
People are people, so why should it be?
You and I should get along so awfully
People are people, so why should it be?
You and I should get along so awfully
Help me understand, help me understand
Help me understand
Now you're punching, and you're kicking
And you're shouting at me
I'm relying on your common decency
So far it hasn't surfaced but I'm sure it exists
It just takes a while to travel from your head to your fist
I can't understand
What makes a man hate another man?
Help me understand
People are people, so why should it be?
You and I should get along so awfully
People are people, so why should it be?
You and I should get along so awfully
I can't understand what make a man hate another man
Help me understand
I can't understand what make a man hate another man
Help me understand
I can't understand what make a man hate another man
Help me understand
I can't understand what make a man hate another man
Help me understand
I can't understand what make a man hate another man
Help me understand
I can't understand what make a man hate another man
Help me understand
You and I should get along so awfully
People are people, so why should it be?
You and I should get along so awfully
So we're different colors, and we're different breeds
And different people, have different needs
It's obvious you hate me, though I've done nothing wrong
I've never even met you, so what could I have done?
I can't understand
What makes a man hate another man?
Help me understand
People are people, so why should it be?
You and I should get along so awfully
People are people, so why should it be?
You and I should get along so awfully
Help me understand, help me understand
Help me understand
Now you're punching, and you're kicking
And you're shouting at me
I'm relying on your common decency
So far it hasn't surfaced but I'm sure it exists
It just takes a while to travel from your head to your fist
I can't understand
What makes a man hate another man?
Help me understand
People are people, so why should it be?
You and I should get along so awfully
People are people, so why should it be?
You and I should get along so awfully
I can't understand what make a man hate another man
Help me understand
I can't understand what make a man hate another man
Help me understand
I can't understand what make a man hate another man
Help me understand
I can't understand what make a man hate another man
Help me understand
I can't understand what make a man hate another man
Help me understand
I can't understand what make a man hate another man
Help me understand
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
"Don't judge a Book by it's cover"
@Qsqaw agreed this song is about not just judging a book by it's cover but looking at the inside as well. Discrimination & ignorance is not what's ever necessary in society, understanding and acceptance is.
best lesson wrapped-up in a song ever.
This songs about racism. So we're different colours And we're different creeds It's still such a cool and relevant song. Stop stupid violence over superficial differences.
I may only be 14 but i love this music and i think it means like most people think it does. dont judge by looks but by the inside.
I don't think it lacks depth, it just puts a complex and sensitive issue-discrimination/racism in a simple way that everyone can understand and relate to. It has a positive message, I like it.
i think the reason this song is so simple is because this is a complicated issue. even though nearly everyone agrees with the message of the song, no one can seem to make this stop. racism is still strong and so is hate and this song is asking why it's so hard to stop in a simple way. also, the way this song sounds makes it sound as though it's through the eyes of a simple minded child, asking important questions that people don't ask themselves enough these days.
This is a really good song.
This song is awesome because it gets its point across.
The simplicity of the song helps illustrate how simple the issue truly is-- people are humans. Why do we have prejudice? Why hate? The idea that we're all human is a simple idea, and the simplicity of the song emphasizes the simplicity of the issue.
One race, the human race, united. At least, that's what i think it's calling for. Why the hell should everyone in the world be at each other's throats for differences. We should all be looking at what we have in common.