"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.
That summer feeling That summer feeling
That summer feeling
When there's things to do not because you gotta
When you run for love not because you oughtta
When you trust your friends with no reason ta nada
This joy I've named shall not be tamed
That summer feeling is gonna haunt you
The rest of your life.
When the cool of the pond makes you drop down on it
When the smell of the lawn makes you flop down on it
When the teenage car gets the cop down on it
That time is here for one more year
That summer feeling's gonna haunt you
The rest of your life.
If you've forgotten what I'm naming
You're gonna long to reclaim it one day
You see that summer feeling is gonna haunt you
The rest of your life.
But if you wait until your older
A sad resentment will smoulder one day
And Then the summer feeling will come haunt you
And that summer feeling will come taunt you
That summer feeling will hurt you
Later in your life.
When the playground that just was all dirt
Comes hauntin
And someone who called you a flirt
Comes tauntin
It's not that these things alone
Were appealin
What I now revealin is a certain feelin
That summer feeling is gonna haunt you
The rest of your life.
When the Oldsmobile has got the top down on it
When the catamaran has got the drop down on it
When the flat of the land has got the crop down on it
What I now proclaim is sortta hard to name
But that summer feeling is gonna haunt you
The rest of your life.
When even fourth grade starts looking good
Which you hated,
And first grade's looking good too,
Overrated,
And you boys long for some little girl
That you dated
Do you long for her of for the way you were,
That summer feeling is gonna haunt you
The rest of your life.
It's gonna haunt you
It's gonna taunt you
That summer feeling
When there's things to do not because you gotta
When you run for love not because you oughtta
When you trust your friends with no reason ta nada
This joy I've named shall not be tamed
That summer feeling is gonna haunt you
The rest of your life.
When the cool of the pond makes you drop down on it
When the smell of the lawn makes you flop down on it
When the teenage car gets the cop down on it
That time is here for one more year
That summer feeling's gonna haunt you
The rest of your life.
If you've forgotten what I'm naming
You're gonna long to reclaim it one day
You see that summer feeling is gonna haunt you
The rest of your life.
But if you wait until your older
A sad resentment will smoulder one day
And Then the summer feeling will come haunt you
And that summer feeling will come taunt you
That summer feeling will hurt you
Later in your life.
When the playground that just was all dirt
Comes hauntin
And someone who called you a flirt
Comes tauntin
It's not that these things alone
Were appealin
What I now revealin is a certain feelin
That summer feeling is gonna haunt you
The rest of your life.
When the Oldsmobile has got the top down on it
When the catamaran has got the drop down on it
When the flat of the land has got the crop down on it
What I now proclaim is sortta hard to name
But that summer feeling is gonna haunt you
The rest of your life.
When even fourth grade starts looking good
Which you hated,
And first grade's looking good too,
Overrated,
And you boys long for some little girl
That you dated
Do you long for her of for the way you were,
That summer feeling is gonna haunt you
The rest of your life.
It's gonna haunt you
It's gonna taunt you
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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.
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.
Awesome