"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.
Forever
It doesn't mean forever anymore
I said forever
But it doesn't look like I'm gonna be around much anymore
When the heat gets sub-tropical
And the talk gets so topical
Riot act, you can read me the riot act
You can make me a matter of fact
Or a villain in a million
A slip of the tongue is gonna keep me civilian
Why do you talk such stupid nonsense?
When my mind could rest much easier
Instead of all this dumb-dumb insolence
I would be happier with amnesia
They say forget her
Now it looks like you're either gonna be before me or against me
I got your letter
Now they say I don't care for the color that it paints me
Trying to be so bad is bad enough
Don't make me laugh by talking tough
Don't put your heart out on your sleeve
When your remarks are off the cuff
Riot act, you can read me the riot act
You can make me a matter of fact
Or a villain in a million
A slip of the tongue is gonna keep me civilian
Riot act, you can read me the riot act
You can make me
Riot act, you can read me the riot act
You can read me the riot act
You can read me the riot act
Ooh
It doesn't mean forever anymore
I said forever
But it doesn't look like I'm gonna be around much anymore
When the heat gets sub-tropical
And the talk gets so topical
Riot act, you can read me the riot act
You can make me a matter of fact
Or a villain in a million
A slip of the tongue is gonna keep me civilian
Why do you talk such stupid nonsense?
When my mind could rest much easier
Instead of all this dumb-dumb insolence
I would be happier with amnesia
They say forget her
Now it looks like you're either gonna be before me or against me
I got your letter
Now they say I don't care for the color that it paints me
Trying to be so bad is bad enough
Don't make me laugh by talking tough
Don't put your heart out on your sleeve
When your remarks are off the cuff
Riot act, you can read me the riot act
You can make me a matter of fact
Or a villain in a million
A slip of the tongue is gonna keep me civilian
Riot act, you can read me the riot act
You can make me
Riot act, you can read me the riot act
You can read me the riot act
You can read me the riot act
Ooh
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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,
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.
the song refers to the incident in which Elvis drunkenly called Ray Charles a "blind, ignorant nigger" while fighting with Stephen Stills and his entourage. That "slip of the tongue" cast him as a "villain," unfairly to some extent. Ray accepted his apology so I'm pretty sure it's all good. Plus it inspired Elvis to record an album full of soul-driven songs like this one, so +1
@chowfun18 Fantastic finish to a superb album.
This song is about a bad argument.
When the heat gets subtropical When the talk gets so topical
the heat is getting hot and the talk is getting hot too.
When you listen, be sure to keep a historical take on the concept of a "riot act" in mind.
The context is one of civil discord where elites just pull legal rank on aggrieved lower-class parties. Those parties feel driven to the expedient of violent revolt, and the elites just effectively say, "OK, now you're just breaking the law. Disperse."
A "riot act" is an intense concept! Imagine how intense it feels when it's living history for you!