"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.
One, two, three four
Oh, yeah
Oh, yeah
Well if you don't like it, go ahead,
Find yourself a saint, go ahead now
Try to find a boy who's gonna be what I ain't
And what you need is a plastic doll with a fresh coat of paint
Who's gonna sit through all the madness always, act so quaint
I said - a. Oh yeah, well - a
It's your new friend, you're really
Making a scene, and I've seen you
Bouncing around, from machine to machine
But you know that
They're never really
Never really what they seem, and you can count on
Generate some warmth, then you'll
See just what I mean, oh baby, baby, baby yeah
Then if I'm acting like a king, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being, and if I
Want too many things, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being
And if I've got to dream, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being, and well if
It's a bit obscene, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being
I don't gotta walk around with my head on down
Just like a human, oh no a human being
I can hold my head so high
Just like a human, a real proud human being
Won't you give me a little sip why won't you give me a
Drag of that cigarette, why don't you
Try to give me something, that I'll
Never ever forget, but now
Could you blow it all, on a
Million dollar bet, because you're
Liable to lose it on a
Best lovin' you've had yet, oh baby baby, oh yeah
Then if I'm acting like a king, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being, and if I
Want too many things, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being
And if I've got to dream, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being, and well if
It's a bit obscene, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being
I don't gotta walk around with my head on down
Just like a human, oh no a human being
I can hold my head so high
Just like a human, a real proud human being
It's like I'm talkin' 'bout the human race
You're tryin' to cover up a big disgrace
Baby, yeah, yeah, yeah
Come on, come on, come on
Well I may think that this whole scene is just a
Too appalling for me
Well, I may be the type who's just mad about
Every little thing that I see, but I can
Color that with history, and make it
Just what I want it to be, well I'm
Blowin' my change on the fan magazines, with all the
Hollywood refugees, oh baby baby oh yeah
Then if I'm acting like a king, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being, and if I
Want too many things, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being
And if I've got to dream, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being, and well if
It's a bit obscene, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being
I don't gotta walk around with my head on down
Just like a human, oh no a human being
I can hold my head so high
Just like a human, a real proud human being
Oh, yeah
Oh, yeah
Well if you don't like it, go ahead,
Find yourself a saint, go ahead now
Try to find a boy who's gonna be what I ain't
And what you need is a plastic doll with a fresh coat of paint
Who's gonna sit through all the madness always, act so quaint
I said - a. Oh yeah, well - a
It's your new friend, you're really
Making a scene, and I've seen you
Bouncing around, from machine to machine
But you know that
They're never really
Never really what they seem, and you can count on
Generate some warmth, then you'll
See just what I mean, oh baby, baby, baby yeah
Then if I'm acting like a king, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being, and if I
Want too many things, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being
And if I've got to dream, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being, and well if
It's a bit obscene, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being
I don't gotta walk around with my head on down
Just like a human, oh no a human being
I can hold my head so high
Just like a human, a real proud human being
Won't you give me a little sip why won't you give me a
Drag of that cigarette, why don't you
Try to give me something, that I'll
Never ever forget, but now
Could you blow it all, on a
Million dollar bet, because you're
Liable to lose it on a
Best lovin' you've had yet, oh baby baby, oh yeah
Then if I'm acting like a king, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being, and if I
Want too many things, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being
And if I've got to dream, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being, and well if
It's a bit obscene, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being
I don't gotta walk around with my head on down
Just like a human, oh no a human being
I can hold my head so high
Just like a human, a real proud human being
It's like I'm talkin' 'bout the human race
You're tryin' to cover up a big disgrace
Baby, yeah, yeah, yeah
Come on, come on, come on
Well I may think that this whole scene is just a
Too appalling for me
Well, I may be the type who's just mad about
Every little thing that I see, but I can
Color that with history, and make it
Just what I want it to be, well I'm
Blowin' my change on the fan magazines, with all the
Hollywood refugees, oh baby baby oh yeah
Then if I'm acting like a king, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being, and if I
Want too many things, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being
And if I've got to dream, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being, and well if
It's a bit obscene, don't you know it's 'cause
I'm a human being
I don't gotta walk around with my head on down
Just like a human, oh no a human being
I can hold my head so high
Just like a human, a real proud human being
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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
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
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.
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