"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.
Throwing candy out to the crowd
Dragging down the main
The helpless little thing with the dirty mouth
Who's always got something to say
You're sitting around at home now
Waiting for your brother to call
I saw him down in the alley
Having had enough of it all
Said, "You can do what you want to
Whenever you want to
You can do what you want to
There's no one to stop you"
All spit and spite, you're up all night
And down every day
A tired man with only hours to go
Just waiting to be taken away
Getting into the back of a car
For candy from some stranger
Watching the parade with pinpoint eyes
Full of smoldering anger
You can do what you want to
Whenever you want to
You can do what you want to
There's no one to stop you
Now, you can do what you want to
Whenever you want to (oh, yeah)
Do what you want to
Whenever you want to (oh, yeah)
Do what you want to
Whenever you want to
Though it doesn't mean a thing
Big nothing
Dragging down the main
The helpless little thing with the dirty mouth
Who's always got something to say
You're sitting around at home now
Waiting for your brother to call
I saw him down in the alley
Having had enough of it all
Said, "You can do what you want to
Whenever you want to
You can do what you want to
There's no one to stop you"
All spit and spite, you're up all night
And down every day
A tired man with only hours to go
Just waiting to be taken away
Getting into the back of a car
For candy from some stranger
Watching the parade with pinpoint eyes
Full of smoldering anger
You can do what you want to
Whenever you want to
You can do what you want to
There's no one to stop you
Now, you can do what you want to
Whenever you want to (oh, yeah)
Do what you want to
Whenever you want to (oh, yeah)
Do what you want to
Whenever you want to
Though it doesn't mean a thing
Big nothing
Lyrics submitted by EnjOy IncUbus, edited by Jate
Ballad of Big Nothing Lyrics as written by Steven Paul Smith
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Holiday
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
No Surprises
Radiohead
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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.
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.
ernt. wrong. you make your own decisions but the song is about drugs.
"all spit and spite you're up all night and down every day" -you're up all night from coke and down every day from heroin
"a tired man with only hours to go just waiting to be taken away " -tired from being up all night from the coke and hes waiting to be taken away by the stranger who is a drug dealer. he is waiting for his fix.
"getting in to the back of a car for candy from some stranger " -candy is cocaine. it is referred to as nose candy and you will take your fix from anybody hence the stranger.
"watching the parade with pinpoint eyes full of smoldering anger" -you get pinpoint eyes from heroin. they become pindrops.
"you can do what you want to whenever you want to you can do what you want to there's no one to stop you" -its your choice to do the drugs. no one can stop you from doing it but yourself
"Candy" is cocaine. "Car" is slang for crack! "You can do whatever you want to" is slang for shooting up behind a Papa Murphy's while your friends watch and laugh. "Nothing" means the white stain left on your mother's blouse when I left her house last night.
@the green eyes I know for many ppl drug is a topic commonly taken as literarly in most Elliot's songs. And don't get me wrong, probably they actually are. <br /> <br /> The problem with almost always relate Elliot's lyrics to drugs is that it becomes quite a sordid, dull and plain common place. I mean you did this comment almost 20 years ago on 2004, so I don't expect your answer anyway... <br /> <br /> But I think USA always have been fked up with the drug consume issue and is quite terrible that horrible problem just have become a "normal" thing to quote, when it is not. Feel sorry for ppl in dependency situation hope they get out from that hell. Elliott apparently couldn't and that always has seemed so sad about his story. <br /> <br /> I think you can also relate this song not to drugs but to insomnia for example or any other sleep disorder or even anxiety disorder YK. Not everything has to be related to the fkn drugs. <br /> <br />
@bluesbegger123 Was the "stain" rude comment necesary?? <br /> <br /> What an idt. You are an absolute twt. <br /> <br /> Behave kind with others who share beautiful Elliot's music, you 2009 troll...
Centers around the oft-heard innocent phrase "you can do whatever you want to." But the innocent phrase of optimism is skewed by the reality that shapes Elliot's life. He thinks he has gone too far away, seen too many things, screwed up too many times and is angry and afraid. Could be about the desire to kick a drug habit - with the second use of "candy" - but not knowing the first thing about how to do it. All that Elliot sees is a patterned cycle that he doesn't know how to escape, so he just keeps on keeping on and becomes bitter at those who live with wide-eyed innocence.
"Throwing candy out to the crowd Dragging down the main"
"The helpless little thing with the dirty mouth Who's always got something to say"
"You're sitting at home now Waiting for your brother to call I saw him down at the alley Having had enough of it all Said you can do what you want to whenever you want to You can do what you want to, there's no one to stop you"
"All spit and spite, you're up all night And down every day"
"A tired man with only hours to go Just waiting to be taken away"
"Getting into the back of a car For candy from some stranger watching the parade with pinpoint eyes Full of smoldering anger"
"You can do what you want to whenever you want to You can do what you want to, there's no one to stop you Now you can do what you want to whenever you want to Do what you want to whenever you want to Do what you want to whenever you want to Though it doesn't mean a thing Big nothing"
this all just guesswork and how i view the song, but thought i'd throw it out there.
You get pinpoint pupils when you take opiates.<br /> <br /> That whole sections is about meeting someone for drugs, taking them and sitting watching the rest of the world pass you by. The anger could be directed at himself for ending up in the situation he's in or it could be the resentment he feels towards the people in 'the parade' for being able to get on with things (breeze through life as if its a parade). Probably a bit of both. No doubt the people in this parade have contributed to his problems and are blissfully unaware.<br /> <br /> I could be superimposing my own outlook onto the message here of course?<br /> <br /> One of the reasons I love Elliott is because he had a great way of summing up complex situations or circumstances with two or three short lines.
Also, it's kind of ironic: it sounds like freedom 'I can do what I want to, there's no one to stop me' but in this context it's the freedom to self-destruct, and of course addiction is the opposite of freedom - you are ruled by the drug, not free at all.
Definitely about drugs, specifically opiates/heroin.
Candy = drugs, etc, blah blah blah, getting into the back of a car = drug deal., etc, I'm sure 50 other comments explain it. I wrote a full analysis and then the site "went terribly wrong" in its own words and I lost the whole things, so I'll just focus on:
Why is it about Heroin and not some other drug?
"Watching the parade with pinpoint eyes full of smoldering anger"
That line.
Pinpoint eyes -- opiates/heroin are one of the only drugs which cause pupils to constrict. This is known as eyes being "pinpoint" or "pinned out".
Full of smoldering anger -- extreme irritability, agitation, and rage are common side effects of Heroin/Opiate use. Anyone who is close with someone who does this type of drug, or has done it will know exactly what Smith is referring to here.
With this one line it's insane to think this song isn't (at least partially) about dope.
Obvious opiate reference.
There you have it.
@mabzie55 BTW I want to add that obviously it's more complex than "just drugs", but opiates are undeniably part of it.
yeah, what he said
"said you can do what you want to whenever you want to"
the melody in this line is great.
you are free no matter what you do or what people do to you.
i think maybe that this is talking about himself and his family, his sister i think...how he does all these things to worry them and they try to just stop careing but they cant and he just makes it worse and worse on them. by his actions and he doesnt think he means anything to anyone, but his family still worries about him. "candy" means sex. at least thats what i got from it...it could mean anything.
"all spit and spite you're up all night and down every day"
I think that's more like, you're up all night on amphetamines and pretty much just feel like crap the next day.