"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.
Have I returned from the dead
A lightning was striking my head
Clarity's filling my mind
I am refined
Unlock the gate to reality
Leaving the maze to be free
Tangled in a realm
Of fantasy and dreams
Blinded by delusion and pain
I must escape - break the chain
Countless years
Of existence in the cold
Now I'm at the mercy
Of the one I've once controlled
From far beyond the ending of all time
I saw the light saving me from the night
Eternal slave your master has returned
Obey and release me
The prisoner of the void
Uhh, I've been traveling
The darkest dimension
A disembodied soul
In damnation
But then I found sanctuary
Peaceful rest in my own entity
Now I realize
We have reached the final shore
Oh, I can't allow him
To destroy it anymore
From far beyond
Demons of time I have felt your embrace
Out in the vastness now I know your face
Oh I gave into the power of thought
Now I must use it to leave my
Sepulchral vault
From far beyond
The ending of all time
I saw the light
Saving me from the night
Eternal slave
Your master has returned
Hear my command
From far beyond
I have been seeing the light
Eternal gods
Hear my entreaty and free me
Release me from the void
A lightning was striking my head
Clarity's filling my mind
I am refined
Unlock the gate to reality
Leaving the maze to be free
Tangled in a realm
Of fantasy and dreams
Blinded by delusion and pain
I must escape - break the chain
Countless years
Of existence in the cold
Now I'm at the mercy
Of the one I've once controlled
From far beyond the ending of all time
I saw the light saving me from the night
Eternal slave your master has returned
Obey and release me
The prisoner of the void
Uhh, I've been traveling
The darkest dimension
A disembodied soul
In damnation
But then I found sanctuary
Peaceful rest in my own entity
Now I realize
We have reached the final shore
Oh, I can't allow him
To destroy it anymore
From far beyond
Demons of time I have felt your embrace
Out in the vastness now I know your face
Oh I gave into the power of thought
Now I must use it to leave my
Sepulchral vault
From far beyond
The ending of all time
I saw the light
Saving me from the night
Eternal slave
Your master has returned
Hear my command
From far beyond
I have been seeing the light
Eternal gods
Hear my entreaty and free me
Release me from the void
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[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.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.