"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.
Backside melts into the sofa
My world, my TV and my food
Besides listening to my belly gurgle
There ain't much else to do
Yeah, I sweat a lot
Hmm, no, eh, shit, oh
Pants fall down every time I bend over
My feet itch
Yeah, I married a scarecrow
I hate you
Talkin' to myself
Everybody's staring at me
I'm only bleedin'
Someone taps me on the shoulder every five minutes
Nobody speaks English anymore
Would anybody tell me if I was getting stupider?
I hate you
Talkin' to myself
You don't feel it after a while
You take the beating
I'm a swingin' guy
Throw a belt over the shower curtain rod
And swing
Toss me inside a hefty
And put me in the ground
A drink needs me
I don't
I ain't about to guzzle no tears
So kiss my ass
Newscasters and cockroaches and desserts
I hate you
Talking to myself
Everybody's staring at me
I'm only bleeding
Where are the kids? I don't know
Maybe getting pregnant or on drugs or on welfare
On top of the world
Honor roll, parole, or reruns
Dodgers on the backs of milk cartons
On stakes in the middle of cornfields
On covers of future history books, old lady's mantles
Walkin' on water, nailed on crosses
I think it's time I had a talk with my kids
I'll just tell 'em what my daddy told me
You ain't never gonna amount to nothin'
My world, my TV and my food
Besides listening to my belly gurgle
There ain't much else to do
Yeah, I sweat a lot
Hmm, no, eh, shit, oh
Pants fall down every time I bend over
My feet itch
Yeah, I married a scarecrow
I hate you
Talkin' to myself
Everybody's staring at me
I'm only bleedin'
Someone taps me on the shoulder every five minutes
Nobody speaks English anymore
Would anybody tell me if I was getting stupider?
I hate you
Talkin' to myself
You don't feel it after a while
You take the beating
I'm a swingin' guy
Throw a belt over the shower curtain rod
And swing
Toss me inside a hefty
And put me in the ground
A drink needs me
I don't
I ain't about to guzzle no tears
So kiss my ass
Newscasters and cockroaches and desserts
I hate you
Talking to myself
Everybody's staring at me
I'm only bleeding
Where are the kids? I don't know
Maybe getting pregnant or on drugs or on welfare
On top of the world
Honor roll, parole, or reruns
Dodgers on the backs of milk cartons
On stakes in the middle of cornfields
On covers of future history books, old lady's mantles
Walkin' on water, nailed on crosses
I think it's time I had a talk with my kids
I'll just tell 'em what my daddy told me
You ain't never gonna amount to nothin'
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
theres something about this song that i just find really saddening. sure it's half-novelty because of the goofiness of it. but these lyrics are very telling.
everyone else has commented about how this guy is a loser and scum... but even the narrator hates himself. he's defeated.
"i hate you... talking to myself"
"i'm only bleeding" "you don't feel it after awhile, you take a beating"
those lines just show how he feels helpless and no one notices... and after a while of dealing with this he just went numb... just accepted being nothing. he's given up on what he once desired and now his outlook has become pessimistic/nihilistic.
he still thinks he's worth something ("would anybody tell me if i was getting stupider?"). but due to whatever he's lost hope.
i love the last verse: "Where are the kids? i dont know... Maybe getting pregnant or on drugs or on welfare on top of the world on the honor roll on parole on the dodgers on the backs of milk cartons..."
it just feeds his hopelessness. showing that everywhere he looks he just sees these pointless or erroneous things people are doing with their lives and feels lost in the bigness of it. feels he can't change the machine of the world and so just carries on the family traditions of defeat.
@poncho524 <br /> <br /> "theres something about this song that i just find really saddening. sure it's half-novelty because of the goofiness of it. but these lyrics are very telling."<br /> <br /> just like many writers think about persons, situations and anecdotes they know, their entourage, everyday life, people they discover, met, etc, certain singers find inspiration in their everyday life and people they know or anecdotes to write certain songs and lyrics.<br /> <br /> at least it was the case for "RV" : it's a caricature of Jim Martin<br /> <br /> (his voice, everyday life and anecdotes (tv, food, beer for example) and the notion of "conservatism", a man who would have a lack of intellectual and cultural level and curiosity (not being (apparently) interested in other countries, cultures and regions of the world (so except the USA) ("nobody speaks english anymore"), etc <br /> (and people who are called (like certain persons said here) "white trash"). <br /> <br /> and the rest is "just a song, art, etc".