"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... burn... burn...)
So if I blaze a trail
Hammer the final nail
So if I shake you off my tail
How can I fail?
Down, pretty bridges burn, all my bridges burnt
Burnt down pretty bridges burn all my bridges burnt
Nausea the vertical climb
A fatal flaw in the design
I can't be sure that you'll open the door to me
The double indemnity
(Burn... burn... burn...)
A mouthful of pleasurable sensation
Shaken by sheer anticipation
Glad you asked me, I had to dash, you see
It's been a blast
(Burn)
All my bridges burn
All my pretty bridges burn
Each one in their turn
All my pretty bridges burn
Burn, pretty bridges burn
All my bridges burn
Will I ever learn?
Watch all my pretty bridges burn
Hysterical look at this chaos
All that I had and all that I lost
You are feeling sleepy
Very very sleepy
Down, pretty bridges burn, all my bridges burnt
Burnt down pretty bridges burn all my bridges burnt
Burnt down pretty bridges burn all my bridges burnt
As for the bitter taste
Let it vanish into the flames
Don't let it go to waste
All the places and the names
This is the master stroke
Raised to the ground
And it all goes up in smoke
All my bridges burn
All my bridges burn
All my pretty bridges burn
Each one in their turn
All my pretty bridges burn
Burn, pretty bridges burn
All my bridges burn
Will I ever learn?
Watch all my pretty bridges burn
Down, pretty bridges burn, all my bridges burnt
Burnt down pretty bridges burn all my bridges burnt [x3]
(Burn...)
All my bridges burn
All my pretty bridges burn
Each one in their turn
All my pretty bridges burn
Burn, pretty bridges burn
All my bridges burn
Will I ever learn?
Watch all my pretty bridges burn
(Burn... burn... burn...)
So if I blaze a trail
Hammer the final nail
So if I shake you off my tail
How can I fail?
Down, pretty bridges burn, all my bridges burnt
Burnt down pretty bridges burn all my bridges burnt
Nausea the vertical climb
A fatal flaw in the design
I can't be sure that you'll open the door to me
The double indemnity
(Burn... burn... burn...)
A mouthful of pleasurable sensation
Shaken by sheer anticipation
Glad you asked me, I had to dash, you see
It's been a blast
(Burn)
All my bridges burn
All my pretty bridges burn
Each one in their turn
All my pretty bridges burn
Burn, pretty bridges burn
All my bridges burn
Will I ever learn?
Watch all my pretty bridges burn
Hysterical look at this chaos
All that I had and all that I lost
You are feeling sleepy
Very very sleepy
Down, pretty bridges burn, all my bridges burnt
Burnt down pretty bridges burn all my bridges burnt
Burnt down pretty bridges burn all my bridges burnt
As for the bitter taste
Let it vanish into the flames
Don't let it go to waste
All the places and the names
This is the master stroke
Raised to the ground
And it all goes up in smoke
All my bridges burn
All my bridges burn
All my pretty bridges burn
Each one in their turn
All my pretty bridges burn
Burn, pretty bridges burn
All my bridges burn
Will I ever learn?
Watch all my pretty bridges burn
Down, pretty bridges burn, all my bridges burnt
Burnt down pretty bridges burn all my bridges burnt [x3]
(Burn...)
All my bridges burn
All my pretty bridges burn
Each one in their turn
All my pretty bridges burn
Burn, pretty bridges burn
All my bridges burn
Will I ever learn?
Watch all my pretty bridges burn
(Burn... burn... burn...)
Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery
Pretty Bridges Lyrics as written by Roisin Murphy Mark Brydon
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
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.
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.
Everything that's been, things attached to you, still clinging onto you, bad memories, people you'd rather forget, things you've done - Always trying to shed the weight. Not keep carrying it around with you endlessly. It's a hard thing to let the past be. For me that's what this song is about.