"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.
Are you missing us
maybe wanting to be kissing us
and if you must, please don’t be dismissing us
and when we’re gone, bailin' on the bus
Are we immersed in a sea of replicants
hard exteriors and fake gold fronts
loosing yourself in the flavor of the month
gotta be a better reason to colonize a star
gotta be a better reason man’s come so far
Is that you in the mama-ocean-people-sea
is that you in this dream as see waving at me
closer with one hand, while the other shields your eyes
as if surprised to see the universe begin
Being up on the mindspin
are you still glad that it has been
six years and seven months
this is want you want, don’t front
I’m feelin’ it right now
in this, the gold hour
part clock and part man
reconciling my life span
Keeps things whole
we move out of the space where air flows
when all of a sudden
here we are, and here we go
The evolutionary mind
turns twist backflips
in space-time the continuum
real-life planetarium
It’s a natural fact
time is speeding up there isn’t much left
heart rate increasing
bustin' through your chest, compressed
Is your life in the physical
but out of memory
comes a vision which is a miracle
yeah, that
Normally we just can’t see
it’s not natural or typical
of our same old thing
livin' too fast, unable to grasp the past
or the future when at last we ripple
after our big splash
Being up on the mindspin
are you still glad that it has been
six years and seven months
this is want you want, don’t front
I’m feelin’ it right now
in this, the gold hour
part clock and part man
reconciling my life span
You remain
and refrain
from the pain
of wasted time
last thing on my mind is
running high
fuel supply
reason why
we just don’t quit
can you get with
a melding of two minds
what's the worst thing you could find
a paper trail
that prevails
in demystification
people
want to believe
in mysteries
people
want to believe
in mysteries
is the truth so bad?
is the truth so bad?
is the truth so bad?
is the truth so bad?
maybe wanting to be kissing us
and if you must, please don’t be dismissing us
and when we’re gone, bailin' on the bus
Are we immersed in a sea of replicants
hard exteriors and fake gold fronts
loosing yourself in the flavor of the month
gotta be a better reason to colonize a star
gotta be a better reason man’s come so far
Is that you in the mama-ocean-people-sea
is that you in this dream as see waving at me
closer with one hand, while the other shields your eyes
as if surprised to see the universe begin
Being up on the mindspin
are you still glad that it has been
six years and seven months
this is want you want, don’t front
I’m feelin’ it right now
in this, the gold hour
part clock and part man
reconciling my life span
Keeps things whole
we move out of the space where air flows
when all of a sudden
here we are, and here we go
The evolutionary mind
turns twist backflips
in space-time the continuum
real-life planetarium
It’s a natural fact
time is speeding up there isn’t much left
heart rate increasing
bustin' through your chest, compressed
Is your life in the physical
but out of memory
comes a vision which is a miracle
yeah, that
Normally we just can’t see
it’s not natural or typical
of our same old thing
livin' too fast, unable to grasp the past
or the future when at last we ripple
after our big splash
Being up on the mindspin
are you still glad that it has been
six years and seven months
this is want you want, don’t front
I’m feelin’ it right now
in this, the gold hour
part clock and part man
reconciling my life span
You remain
and refrain
from the pain
of wasted time
last thing on my mind is
running high
fuel supply
reason why
we just don’t quit
can you get with
a melding of two minds
what's the worst thing you could find
a paper trail
that prevails
in demystification
people
want to believe
in mysteries
people
want to believe
in mysteries
is the truth so bad?
is the truth so bad?
is the truth so bad?
is the truth so bad?
Lyrics submitted by pen1234567
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
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
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.
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.
the chorus is kickass.....