"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.
Yes, this is the campaign
Slithered entrails in the cargo bay
Neutered is the vastness
Hallow vacuum, check the oxygen tanks
They hibernate, but have they kissed the ground?
Pucker up and kiss the asphalt now
Tease this amputation
Splintered larynx, it has access now
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission to the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission from the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission from the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Banked on memory
Mummified circuitry
Skin graft machinery
Sputnik sickles found in the seats
Self-destruct sequence
This station is non-operational
Species growing
Bubbles in an IV loitering
Unknown origin
Is this the comfort of being afraid?
Solar eclipsed
Black out the vultures as they wait
Unknown, unknown
Unknown, unknown, yeah
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission from the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission from the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission from the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Dissect a trillion sighs away
Will you get this letter?
Jagged pulp sliced in my veins
I write to remember
'Cause I'm a million miles away
Will you get this letter?
Jagged pulp sliced in my veins
I write to remember
I write to remember
I write to remember
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission from the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission from the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission from the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Cut away, cut away
Cut away, cut away
Slithered entrails in the cargo bay
Neutered is the vastness
Hallow vacuum, check the oxygen tanks
They hibernate, but have they kissed the ground?
Pucker up and kiss the asphalt now
Tease this amputation
Splintered larynx, it has access now
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission to the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission from the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission from the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Banked on memory
Mummified circuitry
Skin graft machinery
Sputnik sickles found in the seats
Self-destruct sequence
This station is non-operational
Species growing
Bubbles in an IV loitering
Unknown origin
Is this the comfort of being afraid?
Solar eclipsed
Black out the vultures as they wait
Unknown, unknown
Unknown, unknown, yeah
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission from the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission from the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission from the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Dissect a trillion sighs away
Will you get this letter?
Jagged pulp sliced in my veins
I write to remember
'Cause I'm a million miles away
Will you get this letter?
Jagged pulp sliced in my veins
I write to remember
I write to remember
I write to remember
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission from the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission from the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Send transmission from the one armed scissor
Cut away, cut away
Cut away, cut away
Cut away, cut away
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Just to follow up on my earlier post:
Seriously now, this is not some metaphorical masterpiece, it's almost a play-by-play description of the Alien movies. The whole "mummified circuitry, skin graft machinery" bit is a dead-on description of the H.R. Giger art created for the movie Alien. Giger is well-known as an artist who paints mostly disturbing bio-mechanical scenes.
The "self-destruction sequence" bit is taken right from the damn movie -- they try to blow up the ship and they can't, because as it says in the song, "this station is non-operational."
Slithered entrails in the cargo bay? Another scene from Alien.
"Species in an IV loitering"? Another scene from one of the Alien franchise.
You could even argue the "one-armed scissor" is the bio-mechanical hive first shown after the crash landingin the first movie.
The people trying to stretch this into some grand metaphor about the rigors of life have been listening to too much My Chemical Romance. FFS.
@xystophoros there is nothing wrong with MCR. And also, don't you think that things could have a larger point than a sci-fi film franchise. People write things for reason. At the drive in isn't a nerdy pop culture band like psychostick.