"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.
"Stalkin', walkin' in my big black boots"
"Stalkin', walkin' in my big black boots"
God damn, another fuckin' payback with a twist
The motherfuckers shot but the punks missed
Ice Cube is outgunned, what is the outcome?
Will they do me like Malcolm?
'Cause I bust styles, new styles
Standin' strong, while others run a hundred miles
But I never run, never will
Deal with the devil with my motherfuckin' steel, boom!
Media tried to do me
But I was a boy in the hood before the movie, yeah
Call me nigga, bigot, and a spook
But you the one that voted for Duke, motherfucker
White man is somethin' I tried to study
But I got my hands bloody, yeah
They said I could sing like a jaybird
But nigga, don't say the J-word
I thought they was buggin'
'Cause to us, Uncle Sam is Hitler without an oven
Burnin' our black skin
Buy my neighborhood, then push the crack in
Doin' us wrong from the first day
And don't understand why a nigga got an AK
Callin' me an African-American
Like everything is fair again, shit
Devil, you got to get the shit right
I'm black, blacker than a trillion midnights
"Don't Believe The Hype" was said in '88 by the great Chuck D
Now they're tryin' to fuck me!
"With no Vaseline
Just a match and a little bit of gasoline" (huh)
It's a great day for genocide (what's that?)
That's the day all the niggas died
They killed JFK in '63
So what the fuck you think they'll do to me?
But I'm the OG and I bust back (boom, boom!)
Bust back (boom, boom!), peel a cap (boom, boom!)
Gimme room in the fire of the sun
Here the Mack come, here the Black come, watch Jack run!
Motherfuckers can't gank me
Fuck a devil, fuck a rebel, and a Yankee
Overrun and punk the Presidency
If it means that I'm down with O.P.P., yeah!
I met Farrakhan and had dinner
Now you ask if I'm a Five Percenter? Well
No, but I go where the brothers go
Down with Compton Mosque, Number 54
Made a little dough, still got a sister on my elbow
Did Ice Cube sell out? You say, "Hell no!"
A black woman is my manager, not in the kitchen
So could you please stop bitchin'?
"Stalkin', walkin' in my big black boots"
Yeah, yeah
"But when will they shoot?"
"Stalkin', walkin' in my big black boots"
Yeah, yeah
"But when will they shoot?"
You missed, and didn't hit Da Lench Mob, either
Guerrillas in tha Mist without jungle fever
But I got the fever for the flavor of a cracker, not a Pringle
Bust the single, here's my new jingle
"Stalkin', walkin' in my big black boots"
The KKK has got three-piece suits
Usin' niggas like turkey shoots
My motto is, "Treat 'em like a prostitute!"
Now if I say no violence, devil, you won't respect mine
Fuck the dumb shit and get my TEC-9 (yeah)
And if they approach us
I, I I bury those cockroaches
And if you can't deal with my Kill at Will
Here's a new gift to get, try my Death Certificate
AmeriKKKa's Most, America's burnt, it's like toast
Like Jordan, I'm goin' coast to coast
Dribblin' the funk, here comes the nigga with the motherfuckin' monster dunk
Get off me, punk!
"Jordan"
"Watch Jordan!
Ayo, Cube, watch Jordan"
"Yes!"
You better eat your Wheaties"
"Stalkin', walkin' in my big black boots"
Yeah, yeah
"But when will they shoot?"
"Stalkin', walkin' in my big black boots"
Yeah, yeah
"But when will they shoot?"
Daryl Gates got the studio surrounded
'Cause he don't like the niggas that I'm down with
Motherfucker wanna do us
'Cause I like Nat, Huey, Malcolm, and Louis
Most got done by a black man's bullet
Give a trigger to a nigga and watch him pull it
Negro assassin
I'ma dig a ditch, bitch, and throw yo' ass in
When they shoot, no, it won't be a cracker
They use somebody much blacker
What I do? I called up the Geto Boy crew
'Cause my mind's playin' tricks on me, too
Never died, surround my crib
And FOI makin' sure nobody creep when I sleep
Keep a nine millimeter in my Jeep (What?)
Peep when I roll, I gots to roll deep
Ain't goin' out cheap
Met the MADD Circle on Cypress Hill 'cause it's so steep
They'll never get me, they'll never hit me
Motherfuck that shit, J-Dee
Now I'm relaxed
Grab the St. Ides brew so I can max
Sittin' by the window 'cause it's so fuckin' hot
And then I heard a shot (boom!)
"Stalkin', walkin' in my big black boots"
God damn, another fuckin' payback with a twist
The motherfuckers shot but the punks missed
Ice Cube is outgunned, what is the outcome?
Will they do me like Malcolm?
'Cause I bust styles, new styles
Standin' strong, while others run a hundred miles
But I never run, never will
Deal with the devil with my motherfuckin' steel, boom!
Media tried to do me
But I was a boy in the hood before the movie, yeah
Call me nigga, bigot, and a spook
But you the one that voted for Duke, motherfucker
White man is somethin' I tried to study
But I got my hands bloody, yeah
They said I could sing like a jaybird
But nigga, don't say the J-word
I thought they was buggin'
'Cause to us, Uncle Sam is Hitler without an oven
Burnin' our black skin
Buy my neighborhood, then push the crack in
Doin' us wrong from the first day
And don't understand why a nigga got an AK
Callin' me an African-American
Like everything is fair again, shit
Devil, you got to get the shit right
I'm black, blacker than a trillion midnights
"Don't Believe The Hype" was said in '88 by the great Chuck D
Now they're tryin' to fuck me!
"With no Vaseline
Just a match and a little bit of gasoline" (huh)
It's a great day for genocide (what's that?)
That's the day all the niggas died
They killed JFK in '63
So what the fuck you think they'll do to me?
But I'm the OG and I bust back (boom, boom!)
Bust back (boom, boom!), peel a cap (boom, boom!)
Gimme room in the fire of the sun
Here the Mack come, here the Black come, watch Jack run!
Motherfuckers can't gank me
Fuck a devil, fuck a rebel, and a Yankee
Overrun and punk the Presidency
If it means that I'm down with O.P.P., yeah!
I met Farrakhan and had dinner
Now you ask if I'm a Five Percenter? Well
No, but I go where the brothers go
Down with Compton Mosque, Number 54
Made a little dough, still got a sister on my elbow
Did Ice Cube sell out? You say, "Hell no!"
A black woman is my manager, not in the kitchen
So could you please stop bitchin'?
"Stalkin', walkin' in my big black boots"
Yeah, yeah
"But when will they shoot?"
"Stalkin', walkin' in my big black boots"
Yeah, yeah
"But when will they shoot?"
You missed, and didn't hit Da Lench Mob, either
Guerrillas in tha Mist without jungle fever
But I got the fever for the flavor of a cracker, not a Pringle
Bust the single, here's my new jingle
"Stalkin', walkin' in my big black boots"
The KKK has got three-piece suits
Usin' niggas like turkey shoots
My motto is, "Treat 'em like a prostitute!"
Now if I say no violence, devil, you won't respect mine
Fuck the dumb shit and get my TEC-9 (yeah)
And if they approach us
I, I I bury those cockroaches
And if you can't deal with my Kill at Will
Here's a new gift to get, try my Death Certificate
AmeriKKKa's Most, America's burnt, it's like toast
Like Jordan, I'm goin' coast to coast
Dribblin' the funk, here comes the nigga with the motherfuckin' monster dunk
Get off me, punk!
"Jordan"
"Watch Jordan!
Ayo, Cube, watch Jordan"
"Yes!"
You better eat your Wheaties"
"Stalkin', walkin' in my big black boots"
Yeah, yeah
"But when will they shoot?"
"Stalkin', walkin' in my big black boots"
Yeah, yeah
"But when will they shoot?"
Daryl Gates got the studio surrounded
'Cause he don't like the niggas that I'm down with
Motherfucker wanna do us
'Cause I like Nat, Huey, Malcolm, and Louis
Most got done by a black man's bullet
Give a trigger to a nigga and watch him pull it
Negro assassin
I'ma dig a ditch, bitch, and throw yo' ass in
When they shoot, no, it won't be a cracker
They use somebody much blacker
What I do? I called up the Geto Boy crew
'Cause my mind's playin' tricks on me, too
Never died, surround my crib
And FOI makin' sure nobody creep when I sleep
Keep a nine millimeter in my Jeep (What?)
Peep when I roll, I gots to roll deep
Ain't goin' out cheap
Met the MADD Circle on Cypress Hill 'cause it's so steep
They'll never get me, they'll never hit me
Motherfuck that shit, J-Dee
Now I'm relaxed
Grab the St. Ides brew so I can max
Sittin' by the window 'cause it's so fuckin' hot
And then I heard a shot (boom!)
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.