"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.
Come on, come on
Uh, yeah
Come on, come on, uh
I feel like I've been locked up tight
For a century of lonely nights
Waiting for someone to release me
You're lickin' your lips
And blowing kisses my way
But that don't mean I'm gonna give it away
Baby, baby, baby (baby, baby, baby)
Oh, oh, oh
My body's sayin' let's go
Oh, oh, oh
But my heart is sayin' no
If you wanna be with me
Baby, there's a price to pay
I'm a genie in a bottle
You gotta rub me the right way
If you wanna be with me
I can make your wish come true
You gotta make a big impression (oh yeah)
Gotta like what you do
I'm a genie in a bottle, baby
Gotta rub me the right way, honey
I'm a genie in a bottle, baby
Come come, come on and let me out
The music's fading and the lights down low
Just one more dance and then we're good to go
Waiting for someone who needs me
Hormones racing at the speed of light
But that don't mean it's gotta be tonight
Baby, baby, baby (baby, baby, baby)
Oh, oh, oh
My body's sayin' let's go
Oh, oh, oh
But my heart is sayin' no (but my heart is sayin' no)
If you wanna be with me
Baby, there's a price to pay
I'm a genie in a bottle (I'm a genie in a bottle)
You gotta rub me the right way
If you wanna be with me (oh)
I can make your wish come true (your wish come true oh)
Just come and set me free, baby
And I'll be with you
I'm a genie in a bottle, baby
Gotta rub me the right way, honey
I'm a genie in a bottle, baby
Come come, come on and let me out
I'm a genie in a bottle, baby
Gotta rub me the right way, honey
(If you wanna be with me)
I'm a genie in a bottle, baby
Come come, come on and let me out
Oh, oh, oh
My body's sayin' let's go
Oh, oh, oh
But my heart is sayin' no
If you wanna be with me
Baby, there's a price to pay
I'm a genie in a bottle (I'm a genie in a bottle)
You gotta rub me the right way
If you wanna be with me
I can make your wish come true
You gotta make a big impression
Gotta like what you do
If you wanna be with me
Baby, there's a price to pay
I'm a genie in a bottle (in a bottle baby)
You gotta rub me the right way
If you wanna be with me (if you wanna be with me)
I can make your wish come true
Just come and set me free, baby
And I'll be with you
I'm a genie in a bottle, baby
Come come, come on and let me out
Uh, yeah
Come on, come on, uh
I feel like I've been locked up tight
For a century of lonely nights
Waiting for someone to release me
You're lickin' your lips
And blowing kisses my way
But that don't mean I'm gonna give it away
Baby, baby, baby (baby, baby, baby)
Oh, oh, oh
My body's sayin' let's go
Oh, oh, oh
But my heart is sayin' no
If you wanna be with me
Baby, there's a price to pay
I'm a genie in a bottle
You gotta rub me the right way
If you wanna be with me
I can make your wish come true
You gotta make a big impression (oh yeah)
Gotta like what you do
I'm a genie in a bottle, baby
Gotta rub me the right way, honey
I'm a genie in a bottle, baby
Come come, come on and let me out
The music's fading and the lights down low
Just one more dance and then we're good to go
Waiting for someone who needs me
Hormones racing at the speed of light
But that don't mean it's gotta be tonight
Baby, baby, baby (baby, baby, baby)
Oh, oh, oh
My body's sayin' let's go
Oh, oh, oh
But my heart is sayin' no (but my heart is sayin' no)
If you wanna be with me
Baby, there's a price to pay
I'm a genie in a bottle (I'm a genie in a bottle)
You gotta rub me the right way
If you wanna be with me (oh)
I can make your wish come true (your wish come true oh)
Just come and set me free, baby
And I'll be with you
I'm a genie in a bottle, baby
Gotta rub me the right way, honey
I'm a genie in a bottle, baby
Come come, come on and let me out
I'm a genie in a bottle, baby
Gotta rub me the right way, honey
(If you wanna be with me)
I'm a genie in a bottle, baby
Come come, come on and let me out
Oh, oh, oh
My body's sayin' let's go
Oh, oh, oh
But my heart is sayin' no
If you wanna be with me
Baby, there's a price to pay
I'm a genie in a bottle (I'm a genie in a bottle)
You gotta rub me the right way
If you wanna be with me
I can make your wish come true
You gotta make a big impression
Gotta like what you do
If you wanna be with me
Baby, there's a price to pay
I'm a genie in a bottle (in a bottle baby)
You gotta rub me the right way
If you wanna be with me (if you wanna be with me)
I can make your wish come true
Just come and set me free, baby
And I'll be with you
I'm a genie in a bottle, baby
Come come, come on and let me out
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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,
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.
Basically it's saying if you want me than you have to treat me the right way and with respect and I'll give you what you want. Not in a dirty way.