"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.
Oh
Hey
Oh
Say this is it
Don't say maybe
Don't say no
Say this is it
Don't say hold on
Don't say slow
Say this is it
Don't say next time
Don't say when
Say this is it
Don't say later
No, don't say then
Just say yes, do it now
Let yourself go
Just leap, don't look
Or you'll never know
If you love it
You might really love it
Oh, come on
Come on and love it
Yeah, this is it
Don't be cautious
Don't think twice
Yeah, this is it
Don't play it safe
Don't put on ice
Yeah, this is it
Don't chew it over
No, don't kick it around
This is it
Don't wait and see
Don't try to work it out
Just say yes, do it now
Let yourself go
Just leap, don't look
Or you'll never know
If you love it
You might really love it
If you love it
You might really love it
Oh, hey
Oh, don't tell us it could all go wrong
No, don't tell us it could all be a mess
So don't tell me it could all be a waste of time
Just say oui, si, sim, da, ja, yow, igen, kylla
Just say yes
Yes
Hey
Oh
Say this is it
Don't say maybe
Don't say no
Say this is it
Don't say hold on
Don't say slow
Say this is it
Don't say next time
Don't say when
Say this is it
Don't say later
No, don't say then
Just say yes, do it now
Let yourself go
Just leap, don't look
Or you'll never know
If you love it
You might really love it
Oh, come on
Come on and love it
Yeah, this is it
Don't be cautious
Don't think twice
Yeah, this is it
Don't play it safe
Don't put on ice
Yeah, this is it
Don't chew it over
No, don't kick it around
This is it
Don't wait and see
Don't try to work it out
Just say yes, do it now
Let yourself go
Just leap, don't look
Or you'll never know
If you love it
You might really love it
If you love it
You might really love it
Oh, hey
Oh, don't tell us it could all go wrong
No, don't tell us it could all be a mess
So don't tell me it could all be a waste of time
Just say oui, si, sim, da, ja, yow, igen, kylla
Just say yes
Yes
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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
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.
I REALLY like the acoustic version of it.