"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.
Well when you're sitting there in your silk upholstered chair
Talkin' to some rich folk that you know
Well I hope you won't see me in my ragged company
Well, you know I could never be alone
Take me down little Susie, take me down
I know you think you're the queen of the underground
And you can send me dead flowers every morning
Send me dead flowers by the mail
Send me dead flowers to my wedding
And I won't forget to put roses on your grave
Well when you're sitting back in your rose pink Cadillac
Making bets on Kentucky Derby Day
Ah, I'll be in my basement room with a needle and a spoon
And another girl to take my pain away
Take me down little Susie, take me down
I know you think you're the queen of the underground
And you can send me dead flowers every morning
Send me dead flowers by the mail
Send me dead flowers to my wedding
And I won't forget to put roses on your grave
Take me down little Susie, take me down
I know you think you're the queen of the underground
And you can send me dead flowers every morning
Send me dead flowers by the U.S. Mail
Say it with dead flowers in my wedding
And I won't forget to put roses on your grave
No, I won't forget to put roses on your grave
Talkin' to some rich folk that you know
Well I hope you won't see me in my ragged company
Well, you know I could never be alone
Take me down little Susie, take me down
I know you think you're the queen of the underground
And you can send me dead flowers every morning
Send me dead flowers by the mail
Send me dead flowers to my wedding
And I won't forget to put roses on your grave
Well when you're sitting back in your rose pink Cadillac
Making bets on Kentucky Derby Day
Ah, I'll be in my basement room with a needle and a spoon
And another girl to take my pain away
Take me down little Susie, take me down
I know you think you're the queen of the underground
And you can send me dead flowers every morning
Send me dead flowers by the mail
Send me dead flowers to my wedding
And I won't forget to put roses on your grave
Take me down little Susie, take me down
I know you think you're the queen of the underground
And you can send me dead flowers every morning
Send me dead flowers by the U.S. Mail
Say it with dead flowers in my wedding
And I won't forget to put roses on your grave
No, I won't forget to put roses on your grave
Lyrics submitted by spliphstar
Dead Flowers Lyrics as written by Mick Jaggers Keith Richards
Lyrics © Abkco Music Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This song is Keith Richard's "ode to heroin."
"Little Susie" is a reference to the "brown-eyed susan" which is a metaphor for brown heroin, one of the more common forms of the opiate.
"Roses" is yet another flower which has been used as a metaphor or "street slang" for many years to allude to heroin.
"Dead Flowers" in general means "poppies which have been harvested and from which the opiate has been derived."
The power of heroin to kill pain is legendary -including the emotional pain from a broken relationship.
In the 1960's and 70's one way to deliver heroin was to place small amounts in a letter and use the US Postal System. Back then, before the days of technology to detect narcotics in the mail, and in the days when the American political system actually observed people's rights to 4th amendment privacy, heroin could be sent through the mail virtually risk-free to either the sender or the receiver.
"Dead Flowers" actually has to do with Keith's buddy Gram Parsons' wife sending him flowers while he was in England. By the time they tracked him down, the flowers were, of course, dead. I remember reading this from perhaps the book by Rolling Stone editor and writer Ben Fong-Torres. Maybe another source? Anyway both Keith and Gram found it funny.<br /> <br /> SOURCE:<br /> songfacts.com/detail.php
Um, I know this is a 5 year old post, but it needs to be said, Little Susie/Brown-Eyes Susan are not terms associated with H. Neither is "roses". I think you're really stretching here. While yes, there is a common drug theme throughout the entire song, you cannot make up drug slang on the spot. First thing to remember, is this is a country song. It was written with the intention of being played as a straight country song. I think you'll have more luck finding a reason for "Susie" keeping that in mind. You didn't mention "another girl can take my pain away", which is a direct heroin reference (golden girl). <br /> <br /> Just listen to the song, the "too good" girl left the bad boy. She thought she was the queen of the underground, ie slumming it. She's gone, and the junkies are left self medicating like they always do. The lyrics don't seem full of hidden meaning, it seems straight forward, and (side note) I've definitely been in the same spot from which the narration comes... nonetheless, beautiful song.
I think it's quite straightforward too -though I'm not entirely sure that what I'm understanding is right- rather than it having a hidden meaning. <br /> But I have to say that to me it doesn't seem like she's left him rather he left her, otherwise, if he was so in love with her, why would he be saying "send me dead flowers to my wedding" and then "say it with dead flowers at my wedding", like she's pissed off at him? <br /> Although he does say he won't forget to put roses on her grave, to me it seems that what he's trying to say is that she will die before him because she's in deeper shit than he is. Also the red roses thing plus the "rich folk that you know" plus the "rose pink cadillac" make it sound like she's rich, an actress maybe. <br /> <br /> To me it sounds like they're both junkies, and he's going to marry someone else, which is why she's sending him dead flowers, as if she's really hurt about it and hates him for it. <br /> <br /> Again, I might be completely wrong about this, but it makes sense to me... If you think there's something I'm missing here please point it out; I would really like to know exactly what the song is about. And I agree, BEAUTIFUL song!