"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.
I feel so bad, I've got a worried mind
I'm so lonesome all the time
Since I left my baby behind on blue bayou
Savin' nickels, savin' dimes
Workin' 'til the sun don't shine
Lookin' forward to happier times on blue bayou
I'm goin' back some day, come what may, to blue bayou
Where you sleep all day and the catfish play on blue bayou
All those fishin' boats with their sails afloat, if I could only see
That familiar sunrise through sleepy eyes how happy I'd be
Oh, to see my baby again
And to be with some of my friends
Maybe I'd be happy then on blue bayou
I'm goin' back some day, gonna stay on blue bayou
Where the folks are fine and the world is mine on blue bayou
Ah, that girl of mine by my side
The silver moon and the evening tide
Ah, some sweet day gonna take away this hurtin' inside
I'll never be blue, my dreams come true on blue bayou
I'm so lonesome all the time
Since I left my baby behind on blue bayou
Savin' nickels, savin' dimes
Workin' 'til the sun don't shine
Lookin' forward to happier times on blue bayou
I'm goin' back some day, come what may, to blue bayou
Where you sleep all day and the catfish play on blue bayou
All those fishin' boats with their sails afloat, if I could only see
That familiar sunrise through sleepy eyes how happy I'd be
Oh, to see my baby again
And to be with some of my friends
Maybe I'd be happy then on blue bayou
I'm goin' back some day, gonna stay on blue bayou
Where the folks are fine and the world is mine on blue bayou
Ah, that girl of mine by my side
The silver moon and the evening tide
Ah, some sweet day gonna take away this hurtin' inside
I'll never be blue, my dreams come true on blue bayou
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
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.
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.
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.
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.
This is a "coming home" song. Simple, eloquent and as always with Roy - crisp clear lyrics from the heavens. God I miss Roy.