"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.
INTRO
Is he, is he wild? Yes he, yes he is
Is he, is he wild? Yes he, yes he is
Is he, is he wild? Yes he, yes he is
Over here
Let me tell it for a minute
Back at you now
Yo
Dollar, dollar bill y'all
Are these the hardest shoes to fill y'all
Take it in, as far as money's concerned, I'mma break it in
Your golden glove too stiff player? Break it in
Never heard of surplus, the way we touch
Was like two, two gets this busy this much
Severed all my ties and burnt all my bridges
With the art of being broke, leaving y'all folks suspicious
Like who's that? Cool cat move back
Y'all focus on one's, I'll let twos stack
I'mma prove that, the funk run in my vains
And finance run in my brain, so they one in the same
My definition is success, keep 'em running from my reign
Acid, it's classic, stresses of the game
Moving past it, save it for drastic measures
Turn the common paper chaser seeking plastic pleasures
Smart card, my heart bogs to define pressure
The lowest I go is 50/50 split no lesser
Ride with me man, while we conquor this Earth
Squeezing pennies out this thing called rap for what it's worth
I'mma still get by
CHORUS (R&B singer)
The worst will bet ya, is this money or love
Wild bout will get ya, is this money or love
Yo, I'll keep my change over there, see it?
Never touch it, besides my maffy(?) he play the crutches
Ever since I got the know how, sugar
No change for ya, I'll throw this brain to ya
before I feel some shame for ya
And breakdown 'fess up, feel some pain for ya
A mile in my shoes will prove this ain't strange to ya
I see my world through the eyes of envious
First question, can he bust? Fo' sure I can
Bet my {motherfuckin} last penny know I can
Y'all {niggaz} know it the way y'all hold mic stands
Still do it for the love, my {niggaz} stay above
Sea level, feeling the highs like treble
Even if the rule is fight fair, embezel
And rock at navy blue six, no time to revel
In light of their riches, still hitting switches
Before you throw your criticism, wash your dishes
The black magic rap lady go me spittin' vicious
Swimming with sharks, hitting the charts, mind your business
I got to go
CHORUS X2
Every now and then I'm looking at my pen
Thinking are we really friends, or
Or am I just {fucked} up something like pretend
Would I hold my honey tighter even if she had no ends
Or turn the {bitch} out and cop a 600 Benz, oh lord
** silent line **
Shake her ass worldwide and throw the cheese to me
From ho to housewife, satisfy my needs
She'll do wonders for my hunger, while massaging my greed
Ya HEARD me?
We bring every last John to his bloody knees
While she wax off, I get my wax on
Ya Hot 97 and your Power 106
Peep my property and throw Saukrates these chips
I got to go
CHORUS X4
Is he, is he wild? Yes he, yes he is
Is he, is he wild? Yes he, yes he is
Is he, is he wild? Yes he, yes he is
Over here
Let me tell it for a minute
Back at you now
Yo
Dollar, dollar bill y'all
Are these the hardest shoes to fill y'all
Take it in, as far as money's concerned, I'mma break it in
Your golden glove too stiff player? Break it in
Never heard of surplus, the way we touch
Was like two, two gets this busy this much
Severed all my ties and burnt all my bridges
With the art of being broke, leaving y'all folks suspicious
Like who's that? Cool cat move back
Y'all focus on one's, I'll let twos stack
I'mma prove that, the funk run in my vains
And finance run in my brain, so they one in the same
My definition is success, keep 'em running from my reign
Acid, it's classic, stresses of the game
Moving past it, save it for drastic measures
Turn the common paper chaser seeking plastic pleasures
Smart card, my heart bogs to define pressure
The lowest I go is 50/50 split no lesser
Ride with me man, while we conquor this Earth
Squeezing pennies out this thing called rap for what it's worth
I'mma still get by
CHORUS (R&B singer)
The worst will bet ya, is this money or love
Wild bout will get ya, is this money or love
Yo, I'll keep my change over there, see it?
Never touch it, besides my maffy(?) he play the crutches
Ever since I got the know how, sugar
No change for ya, I'll throw this brain to ya
before I feel some shame for ya
And breakdown 'fess up, feel some pain for ya
A mile in my shoes will prove this ain't strange to ya
I see my world through the eyes of envious
First question, can he bust? Fo' sure I can
Bet my {motherfuckin} last penny know I can
Y'all {niggaz} know it the way y'all hold mic stands
Still do it for the love, my {niggaz} stay above
Sea level, feeling the highs like treble
Even if the rule is fight fair, embezel
And rock at navy blue six, no time to revel
In light of their riches, still hitting switches
Before you throw your criticism, wash your dishes
The black magic rap lady go me spittin' vicious
Swimming with sharks, hitting the charts, mind your business
I got to go
CHORUS X2
Every now and then I'm looking at my pen
Thinking are we really friends, or
Or am I just {fucked} up something like pretend
Would I hold my honey tighter even if she had no ends
Or turn the {bitch} out and cop a 600 Benz, oh lord
** silent line **
Shake her ass worldwide and throw the cheese to me
From ho to housewife, satisfy my needs
She'll do wonders for my hunger, while massaging my greed
Ya HEARD me?
We bring every last John to his bloody knees
While she wax off, I get my wax on
Ya Hot 97 and your Power 106
Peep my property and throw Saukrates these chips
I got to go
CHORUS X4
Lyrics submitted by daisie_bfa
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
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."
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.
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.