"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.
There times when lifes got me feelin beat
There times when I just cant compeat
There times when I fell like it's the end
There times when I just have to pretend
There time when it feels like a scheme
There times when it seems like a scary dream
There times where I stare in disbelief
There times when I'm overcumb with grief
CHORUS
I cant just sit around and watch the news
Life gives you no chance to choose
You cant win you can only loose
Lifes filled with dread
Would we be better off dead?
Lifes full of choices that you need to make
Lifes full of rules that you need to break
Lifes full of things that just don't relate
Lifes full of people who only hate
Lifes full of agression and pain
Life's a game no one can explain
Life's full of flaws and its full of dents
Life to me it makes no fucking sense
REPEAT CHORUS
BRIDGE
Lifes full of problems and stress
Lifes just a crazy fucked up mess
There times I feel amused
There times I feel confused
Lifes full of people who are blindly led
Lifes full of people all soon to be dead
There times when life feels like a war
It beats you down till you cant take no more
But in life the least I can do is try
So I'll fight the war till I drop dead and die
In life theres no hope,Im just filled with doubt
Lifes like a maze, but theres no way out!
There times when I just cant compeat
There times when I fell like it's the end
There times when I just have to pretend
There time when it feels like a scheme
There times when it seems like a scary dream
There times where I stare in disbelief
There times when I'm overcumb with grief
CHORUS
I cant just sit around and watch the news
Life gives you no chance to choose
You cant win you can only loose
Lifes filled with dread
Would we be better off dead?
Lifes full of choices that you need to make
Lifes full of rules that you need to break
Lifes full of things that just don't relate
Lifes full of people who only hate
Lifes full of agression and pain
Life's a game no one can explain
Life's full of flaws and its full of dents
Life to me it makes no fucking sense
REPEAT CHORUS
BRIDGE
Lifes full of problems and stress
Lifes just a crazy fucked up mess
There times I feel amused
There times I feel confused
Lifes full of people who are blindly led
Lifes full of people all soon to be dead
There times when life feels like a war
It beats you down till you cant take no more
But in life the least I can do is try
So I'll fight the war till I drop dead and die
In life theres no hope,Im just filled with doubt
Lifes like a maze, but theres no way out!
Lyrics submitted by Josiah
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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”
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.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/