"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.
Open up your box of sunshine
And smile as confetti comes raining down on you
You feel a lot like the good guy but do you know why
Everything's so blue
Well love is fire and the coals are barely burning
Cold fills the emptiness that fills this empty place
I taught you the walk but then you ran away from me
And that's not how it's supposed to be
I I collide with love as an elusive state of mind
I know there's something else it's supposed to be
I, I collide with love as an elusive state of mind
Something's killing me!
Tearful confessions have watered down and broken down
The chance for unrequited love to finally reach its wall
You're waiting for the axe to fall
Can't you see it lying on the ground?
You could be the best one at cleaning up this mess
Be the best one, be the best one, be the best one
And smile as confetti comes raining down on you
You feel a lot like the good guy but do you know why
Everything's so blue
Well love is fire and the coals are barely burning
Cold fills the emptiness that fills this empty place
I taught you the walk but then you ran away from me
And that's not how it's supposed to be
I I collide with love as an elusive state of mind
I know there's something else it's supposed to be
I, I collide with love as an elusive state of mind
Something's killing me!
Tearful confessions have watered down and broken down
The chance for unrequited love to finally reach its wall
You're waiting for the axe to fall
Can't you see it lying on the ground?
You could be the best one at cleaning up this mess
Be the best one, be the best one, be the best one
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
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,
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.
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.
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.
this song helped me get over alll the troubles in my life. to me it means that we will always be alone because we run from the truth of god.