"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.
I was born in the wagon of a travelin' show
My mama used to dance for the money they'd throw
Papa would do whatever he could
Preach a little gospel, sell a couple bottles of Doctor Good
Gypsies, tramps, and thieves
We'd hear it from the people of the town
They'd call us gypsies, tramps, and thieves
But every night all the men would come around
And lay their money down
Picked up a boy just south of Mobile
Gave him a ride, filled him with a hot meal
I was sixteen, he was twenty-one
Rode with us to Memphis
And papa woulda shot him if he knew what he'd done
Gypsies, tramps, and thieves
We'd hear it from the people of the town
They'd call us gypsies, tramps, and thieves
But every night all the men would come around
And lay their money down
I never had schoolin' but he taught me well
With his smooth southern style
Three months later I'm a gal in trouble
And I haven't seen him for a while, uh-huh
I haven't seen him for a while, uh-huh
She was born in the wagon of a travelin' show
Her mama had to dance for the money they'd throw
Grandpa'd do whatever he could
Preach a little gospel, sell a couple bottles of Doctor Good
Gypsies, tramps, and thieves
We'd hear it from the people of the town
They'd call us gypsies, tramps, and thieves
But every night all the men would come around
And lay their money down
Gypsies, tramps, and thieves
We'd hear it from the people of the town
They'd call us gypsies, tramps, and thieves
But every night all the men would come around
And lay their money down
Gypsies, tramps, and thieves
My mama used to dance for the money they'd throw
Papa would do whatever he could
Preach a little gospel, sell a couple bottles of Doctor Good
Gypsies, tramps, and thieves
We'd hear it from the people of the town
They'd call us gypsies, tramps, and thieves
But every night all the men would come around
And lay their money down
Picked up a boy just south of Mobile
Gave him a ride, filled him with a hot meal
I was sixteen, he was twenty-one
Rode with us to Memphis
And papa woulda shot him if he knew what he'd done
Gypsies, tramps, and thieves
We'd hear it from the people of the town
They'd call us gypsies, tramps, and thieves
But every night all the men would come around
And lay their money down
I never had schoolin' but he taught me well
With his smooth southern style
Three months later I'm a gal in trouble
And I haven't seen him for a while, uh-huh
I haven't seen him for a while, uh-huh
She was born in the wagon of a travelin' show
Her mama had to dance for the money they'd throw
Grandpa'd do whatever he could
Preach a little gospel, sell a couple bottles of Doctor Good
Gypsies, tramps, and thieves
We'd hear it from the people of the town
They'd call us gypsies, tramps, and thieves
But every night all the men would come around
And lay their money down
Gypsies, tramps, and thieves
We'd hear it from the people of the town
They'd call us gypsies, tramps, and thieves
But every night all the men would come around
And lay their money down
Gypsies, tramps, and thieves
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae
Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves Lyrics as written by Bob Stone
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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”
I think it's a short and simple story that begins flipping the middle finger at the gossipy bitches who would verbally trash and smear them, likely unaware their husbands were hanging out and paying for their affection at night. Then tells about her carnival clan recruiting a hungry street kid in Alabama who managed to seduce and impregnate her as their show headed to Tennessee and then ditched her, and closes by giving the impression she had a child that just carried on the same life style
Mobile should be capitalized. Like south of Mobile, AL.
It is!
I like this song. I like to sing along. It sounds kinda folklorish to me, like a story some gypsies. But thats just me.
Oh i totally agree,<br /> very cool song!<br /> And the meaning is pretty basic,<br /> traveling gypsy family,<br /> moms a prostitute, i think,<br /> and they pick up a 21yr old who seduces the girl,<br /> she gets preggers, and he leaves.<br /> Then she has a daughter who will have the same life as her probably.<br /> This song reminds me of "In the Ghetto" by Elvis, so much! i dont know why
This is about a gypsy girl who probably got raped by the boy they picked up... either raped or he seduced her. Either way, he left her with the baby and now the kid is going to live the same life that she had to live.
For some reason, I listened to this song for years and years before realizing that the last verse was actually talking about the narrator's daughter. I'm slow. But yeah, it made me love it all the more.
this song is so hard to get out of my head after i listen to it.
I love this song!!! However, I have always had one problem with the lyrics. I live in Alabama, so I enjoy the reference to Mobile. The problem is that Mobile sits on the northern edge of Mobile Bay. The only thing that lies to the south of it is the Gulf of Mexico. Just a little tidbit, but it bothers me noentheless. Like I said, I still love this song.
Chers half Gypsy so its probably about the earlier years in her life :) great song too been singing it for nearly a week now and still not bored of it :D
Mobile is along the northern part of Mobile Bay, yes, but it is on the western edge, not the northern edge. There are a number of towns "just south of Mobile", including Mon Louis, Alabama Port, Heron Bay, and Dauphin Island.
@jeff109483 Good pick-up, Jeff. Just goes to show lyrical pursuits are not the ideal place to glean geographical knowledge. The original poster may have had better success referring to Paper Lace’s opening line in, “The Night Chicago Died”. (The Brit writers’ defence was that there is an east side to everywhere.)\r\n\r\nAs a die-hard Seger fan, I at least hope there are indeed hot days and railroad tracks in the aforementioned Mobile.
She is singing about marginalised people.