"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.
Madman drummers bummers and Indians in the summer
With a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps
As the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin' kinda older
I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing
The calliope crashed to the ground
Some all-hot half-shot was headin' for the hot spot
Snappin' his fingers, clappin' his hands
And some fleshpot mascot was tied into a lover's knot
With a whatnot in her hand
And now young Scott with a slingshot
Finally found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-me-not whispers
Daddy's within earshot, save the buckshot, turn up the band
And she was blinded by the light
Oh, cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight
But she'll make it alright
Some brimstone baritone anti-cyclone
Rolling stone preacher from the East
He says, dethrone the dictaphone
Hit it in its funny bone, that's where they expect it least
And some new-mown chaperone was standin' in the corner all alone
Watchin' the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin' with his frozen zone
To remind him of the feeling of romance
Yeah, he was blinded by the light
Oh, cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
He got down but he never got tight, but he's gonna make it tonight
Some silicone sister with her manager's mister
Told me I got what it takes
She said, I'll turn you on, sonny
To something strong if you'll play that song with the funky break
And Go-Cart Mozart was checkin' out the weather chart
To see if it was safe to go outside
And little Early-Pearly came by in her curly-wurly
And asked me if I needed a ride
Oh, some hazard from Harvard was skunked on beer
Playin' backyard bombardier
Yes, and Scotland Yard was trying hard
They sent some dude with a calling card
He said, do what you like, but don't do it here
Well, I jumped up, turned around, spit in the air
Fell on the ground and asked him which was the way back home
He said, take a right at the light
Keep goin' straight until night
And then, boy, you're on your own
And now in Zanzibar
A shootin' star was ridin' in a side car
Hummin' a lunar tune
Yes, and the avatar said, blow the bar
But first remove the cookie jar
We're gonna teach those boys to laugh too soon
And some kidnapped handicap was complainin'
That he caught the clap from some mousetrap he bought last night
Well, I unsnapped his skull cap and between his ears
I saw a gap and figured he'd be alright
He was just blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun
Oh, but Mama, that's where the fun is
Ooh yeah
I was blinded
I was blinded
I was blinded
I was blinded
I was blinded
I was blinded
I was blinded
I was blinded
I was blinded
With a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps
As the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin' kinda older
I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing
The calliope crashed to the ground
Some all-hot half-shot was headin' for the hot spot
Snappin' his fingers, clappin' his hands
And some fleshpot mascot was tied into a lover's knot
With a whatnot in her hand
And now young Scott with a slingshot
Finally found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-me-not whispers
Daddy's within earshot, save the buckshot, turn up the band
And she was blinded by the light
Oh, cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight
But she'll make it alright
Some brimstone baritone anti-cyclone
Rolling stone preacher from the East
He says, dethrone the dictaphone
Hit it in its funny bone, that's where they expect it least
And some new-mown chaperone was standin' in the corner all alone
Watchin' the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin' with his frozen zone
To remind him of the feeling of romance
Yeah, he was blinded by the light
Oh, cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
He got down but he never got tight, but he's gonna make it tonight
Some silicone sister with her manager's mister
Told me I got what it takes
She said, I'll turn you on, sonny
To something strong if you'll play that song with the funky break
And Go-Cart Mozart was checkin' out the weather chart
To see if it was safe to go outside
And little Early-Pearly came by in her curly-wurly
And asked me if I needed a ride
Oh, some hazard from Harvard was skunked on beer
Playin' backyard bombardier
Yes, and Scotland Yard was trying hard
They sent some dude with a calling card
He said, do what you like, but don't do it here
Well, I jumped up, turned around, spit in the air
Fell on the ground and asked him which was the way back home
He said, take a right at the light
Keep goin' straight until night
And then, boy, you're on your own
And now in Zanzibar
A shootin' star was ridin' in a side car
Hummin' a lunar tune
Yes, and the avatar said, blow the bar
But first remove the cookie jar
We're gonna teach those boys to laugh too soon
And some kidnapped handicap was complainin'
That he caught the clap from some mousetrap he bought last night
Well, I unsnapped his skull cap and between his ears
I saw a gap and figured he'd be alright
He was just blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun
Oh, but Mama, that's where the fun is
Ooh yeah
I was blinded
I was blinded
I was blinded
I was blinded
I was blinded
I was blinded
I was blinded
I was blinded
I was blinded
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
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
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
I guess everyone here is too young to know..."deuce" has always referred to 1932 Fords. As in "little deuce coupe" by the Beach Boys. A very popular car to chop, channel, and hot rod in the 1950s and 60s, because the body is separate from the frame. The Boss would know this.
OK, we know what a deuce is, but what's a curly-wurly?
The song is about working as a musician down the shore. It's about being down the shore as a young man waorking on the boardwalk and playing in a band, and it talks about a lot of stuff thats happening around. Manfred Mann has no idea what the sonf is about and they dont do the verses in the right order.
@lozz588 ...and, they left out three of the verses. That is, if you’re comparing Springsteen’s with Manfred Mann’s LP version. As opposed the AM radio hit: which leaves out even more. Like the middle eight, which treads around the edge of, “Can I do it until I need glasses?”<br /> <br /> Song has plenty of subtext ‘bout sex—and a bit of drugs, and lotsa rock ‘n roll—more obviously so, in Springsteen's version.<br /> <br /> The verses cut by Manfred Mann include the phrases:<br /> “fleshpot mascot”<br /> “...kidnapped handicap was complainin' that he caught the clap from some mousetrap”<br /> …which, I s'pose, is a sop to those from the record company who found those scary werds weird like a rainbow beard?<br /> <br /> The one with:<br /> “some hazard from Harvard was skunked on beer, playin’ backyard bombardier”?<br /> Well….don’t know why it got left on the studio floor, so to speak.<br /> <br /> Does anyone of this matter? The whole song has a seriously trippy vibe. But it’s not as that makes it different from much of anything else written during the era.<br />
Springsteen explains it on the Storytellers DVD. He sat down on his bed with a rhyming dictionary and wrote this brilliant autobiographical song.
I remember the Indians were the baseball team he played with growing up(no pun intended). "Some silicone sister with her manager's mister told me I got what it takes She said I'll turn you on sonny to something strong if you play that song with the funky break" refers to the studio not releasing the album until they thought he had a hit. So he wrote this in pure frustration. That's the true story.
springsteen: the greatest
first off the song has nothing to do about drugs. bruce said it is about his life as a kid. indians in the summer refers to his baseball team he played on. madman drummer is a guy he used to play with. duece is a two seater sports car.
"The Magic Rat" is right. This song clarifies why Springsteen never did any drugs. Because he was already "crazy" without the drugs. "Blinded by light" is a reference to having a good time.
I fyou rhtink Springsteen never did drugs you're out of your mind!
I think this song has something to do with Plato's Allegory of the Cave.
Springsteen talked about this song in detail on an episode of VH1 Storytellers. A lot of the references are personal, to include people he knew or had met on the Boardwalks, or had grown up around, or were just direct personal references to himself: Madman drummers bummers - Vinnie "Mad dog" Lopez, the first drummer in the E Street Band. Indians in the summer - Bruce's little league baseball team as a kid. In the dumps with the mumps - being sick with the mumps. Boulder on my shoulder - a "chip" on his shoulder. Some all hot, half-shot, heading for a hot spot, snapping fingers clapping his hands - Being a "know it all kid growing up, who doesn't really know anything." "Silicone Sister" - Bruce mentions that this is arguably the first mention of breast implants in popular music - a dancer at one of the local strip joints in Asbury Park.
All my days. im 53 yrs old. i always told myself and others this song is about Nothing..to do with Nothing and believed it for so long..hence taking out a rhyming dictionary to write a song. So many..have the lyrics wrong. Rev'ed up like a Deuce - not a douche. that's [censor]'n retarded and only a douche bag would say such a thing like 'Rev'ed up like a douche' some of us are affectionate about our music, and will take your rude comments, suggestions the wrong way and may throw you an [censor] Beaten of your life. i will slap a fool in the mouth over song lyrics, song and band facts said in a manner that is purposely said to show disrepect and in distaste. Yup - speak the wrong [censor] to me about my Rock And Roll to my face or where i can hear it, and your words just might get your jaw broke to teach you a lesson, the Band may not be able to protect themselves from hearing your BS..but i did, and i will advocate for my Musicians in their absence. and it should be that way..to many people get a way with directly insulting you to your face, and that [censor] has to stop. matter of fact stop lying, making up false information and spreading BS all together. speak facts and opinions based on facts or shut up- that simple.
You sound like a deuce bag….
Bruce said later he was really surprised by the success of Manfred Mann's cover. "That's it, we're giving up the British" he told his manager, "- if THIS races to the number one spot they're much too eclectic for us"
i think it's about sex and being young.