"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.
Burn down the malls
Burn down the malls
Burn down the shoppin' malls
I said Burn down the malls
said burn down the shoppin' malls
burna burna burna burna down shoppin' malls
Hey you ever get the feelin that America is turning into some kinda sit-com
lowest common denominator
shopping mall marketing strategy from hell
You ever get that feeling?
Well I got that feeling right now
and it's kinda getting under my skin
yeah
so get some gas-o-line and
Burn down the malls SAY IT
Burn down the malls LOUDER
Burn down the malls
You know it just started out as a kind of corner store
Then it turned into a shopping center
Oh I remember the shoppin' center openings man
they used to have those big lights shinin' up
but now
Now, where do the old folks go?
Where do the young kids go?
What's America, what's America turning into?
Mondo-condo-shopping-mall-hell
I say
Burn down the malls
Burn down the malls
Burn down the malls
Nero had the right idea
fiddle while you burn
Now another thing is kinda gettin' on my nerves...
another thing that's kinda gettin' on my nerves is this
national 21 drinking age
Huh? what do ya think about that?
A bunch of malarkey
whatever malarkey is man
it's a whole bunch of it..
you know if Reagan finally gets the war he's lookin for
you think he's gonna be draftin' 21 year olds?
No man they're gonna be draftin' 18 and 19 year olds
but ya can't buy beer
you can get married and screw yourself up real good
but ya can't buy beer
ya can charge 8 million dollars on the master charge
but ya can't buy beer
you can vote for one fool or another
but ya can't buy beer
'cause this is America
America that's run by the lowest common denominator
the money
how many units did ya move Mojo?
how many things of apple juice did ya sell?
see'mon suckers see'mon feel it
Burn down the malls
Burn down the malls
Burn down the malls
Alright all you weirdo's out there
all you moralistic twisted evil little ice pickers
you say "we want to censor rock and roll"
we want to decide what you read
what you watch
what you listen to
oh oh oh Mr. Falwell
oh Miss Tipper Gore
wait till i got you on the floor
we gonna tie you up inside of a shopping mall
then we're gonna then we're gonna
we're gonna have a war on drugs
a war on drugs
we outta' have a war on war you suckers
we outta 'have a war on this senseless condominium
new car hell
Burn down the malls
Burn down the malls
Burn down the malls
Burn down the malls
Burn down the shoppin' malls
I said Burn down the malls
said burn down the shoppin' malls
burna burna burna burna down shoppin' malls
Hey you ever get the feelin that America is turning into some kinda sit-com
lowest common denominator
shopping mall marketing strategy from hell
You ever get that feeling?
Well I got that feeling right now
and it's kinda getting under my skin
yeah
so get some gas-o-line and
Burn down the malls SAY IT
Burn down the malls LOUDER
Burn down the malls
You know it just started out as a kind of corner store
Then it turned into a shopping center
Oh I remember the shoppin' center openings man
they used to have those big lights shinin' up
but now
Now, where do the old folks go?
Where do the young kids go?
What's America, what's America turning into?
Mondo-condo-shopping-mall-hell
I say
Burn down the malls
Burn down the malls
Burn down the malls
Nero had the right idea
fiddle while you burn
Now another thing is kinda gettin' on my nerves...
another thing that's kinda gettin' on my nerves is this
national 21 drinking age
Huh? what do ya think about that?
A bunch of malarkey
whatever malarkey is man
it's a whole bunch of it..
you know if Reagan finally gets the war he's lookin for
you think he's gonna be draftin' 21 year olds?
No man they're gonna be draftin' 18 and 19 year olds
but ya can't buy beer
you can get married and screw yourself up real good
but ya can't buy beer
ya can charge 8 million dollars on the master charge
but ya can't buy beer
you can vote for one fool or another
but ya can't buy beer
'cause this is America
America that's run by the lowest common denominator
the money
how many units did ya move Mojo?
how many things of apple juice did ya sell?
see'mon suckers see'mon feel it
Burn down the malls
Burn down the malls
Burn down the malls
Alright all you weirdo's out there
all you moralistic twisted evil little ice pickers
you say "we want to censor rock and roll"
we want to decide what you read
what you watch
what you listen to
oh oh oh Mr. Falwell
oh Miss Tipper Gore
wait till i got you on the floor
we gonna tie you up inside of a shopping mall
then we're gonna then we're gonna
we're gonna have a war on drugs
a war on drugs
we outta' have a war on war you suckers
we outta 'have a war on this senseless condominium
new car hell
Burn down the malls
Burn down the malls
Burn down the malls
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
The best angry rant against consumerism, big corporations, the search of the "american dream", and general stupidity. Just listening to it gets me pissed in a good way. The Moj is all about freedom.