"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.
Nobody does it better
Makes me feel sad for the rest
Nobody does it half as good as you
Baby, you're the best
I wasn't lookin' but somehow you found me
I tried to hide from your love light
But like heaven above me
The spy who loved me
Is keepin' all my secrets safe tonight
And nobody does it better
Though sometimes I wish someone could
Nobody does it quite the way you do
Why'd you have to be so good?
The way that you hold me
Whenever you hold me
There's some kind of magic inside you
That keeps me from runnin'
But just keep it comin'
How'd you learn to do the things you do?
And nobody does it better
Makes me feel sad for the rest
Nobody does it half as good as you
Baby, baby
Darlin', you're the best
Baby, you're the best
Baby, you're the best
Sweet baby, you're the best
Darlin', you're the best
Darlin', you're the best
Sweet baby, you're the best
Baby, you're the best
Sweet baby
Makes me feel sad for the rest
Nobody does it half as good as you
Baby, you're the best
I wasn't lookin' but somehow you found me
I tried to hide from your love light
But like heaven above me
The spy who loved me
Is keepin' all my secrets safe tonight
And nobody does it better
Though sometimes I wish someone could
Nobody does it quite the way you do
Why'd you have to be so good?
The way that you hold me
Whenever you hold me
There's some kind of magic inside you
That keeps me from runnin'
But just keep it comin'
How'd you learn to do the things you do?
And nobody does it better
Makes me feel sad for the rest
Nobody does it half as good as you
Baby, baby
Darlin', you're the best
Baby, you're the best
Baby, you're the best
Sweet baby, you're the best
Darlin', you're the best
Darlin', you're the best
Sweet baby, you're the best
Baby, you're the best
Sweet baby
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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.
one of my favorite songs by her...im forced to appreciate her anyways since i was named after her :)
Bernduck, you spaz, the song is about James Bond.
This song is about the one for whom you have an attraction and can't let go of that wonderfully hypnotic feeling.
the spy who loved me was my favorite 007 movie for so long.. and this just happened to be a great song that went with it. carly simon just rocks anyway.
i love this song, it's my favorite song by her!!
I thought the masturbation idea was totally the result of someone projecting their own "issues" until I saw and thought about this line;
Sometimes I wish someone would (wishes there was someone that could please her better than herself)
Why would you be so happy (apparently) with a real lover and then wish someone would be better? I is either self-love (emotionally at least) or the fantasies of a promiscuous person who wants or needs multiple sex partners that can keep her "in tune".
I shouls also say that as someone who was a very young adult at the taill end of the age of promiscuous behavior framed by the post-war baby boomers and the revelation that sexually transmitted diseases are more than “inconvenient” (AIDS and related serious medical consequences) I had several opportunites to have what most men consider the ultimate situation and to be honest, sex without genuine love and affection gets old pretty fast. I suppose this explains why serial sex partners never satisfy one another. Likewise, masturbation would get old after the hormones stabilize. I think the factors that lead to this are fantasy of a future “ultimate” partner, and also be elevated hormones. Once you realize that there are no ideal people no matter how physically attractive they are, the fantasies (that are in part due to expectations and hopes of future partners).
For all of those reasons, I think that song does not make sense as “self love” motivated but that one line does need to be explained if this is supposedly a reference to a sole-mate partner. The last possibility is that the song was written for the film, and that she is totally in love with a spy and she wishes someone more accessible would offer her a better set of circumstances. The more I think about it, the more sense that last theory makes to me
I'm going with that last bit, too.<br /> <br /> The song is written from the perspective of one of Bond's many lovers. <br /> <br /> "Sometimes I wish someone would" is sort of an empty plea for someone more stable to come along, but ultimately her attraction to Bond is too strong ("keeps me from running").
This song is probably not about masturbation. With the line, "though sometimes I wish someone would," I think that's just referring to the fact that the guy himself isn't perfect - isn't the perfect boyfriend - and she wishes that she could leave him... except that he's easily the best in bed.
And also, there's that line, "how'd you learn to do the things you do?" I doubt the singer is referring to herself.
Furthermore, this song was written for a James Bond movie. Bond is the guy that this song is about, and nobody does "it" better than him.
This is the Title song for "The Spy who Loved me" It's a woman (perhaps the character -Triple XXX- in the movie) singing about James Bond how stunning and fantastic he is.
Nobody does it better
People who claim this song would be about masturbation are definitely on acid...
This song reminds of my man, its funny cuase his name is witley james bond and the song was used in a james bond movie... But nobody does it better than my baby. ;)
This is the sexyst song ever written. Just love it.