"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 am livin' on Channel Z!
Getting nothing but static, getting nothing but static
Static in my attic from Channel Z
Getting nothing but static, getting nothing but static
Static filling my attic from Channel Z
I don't know, I feel like something's happening
Something good is happening
I feel love has got to come on, and I want it
Something big and lovely
I want the world to change for me
Gotta get away, away from Z
Living on the edge of Z
Space junk, laser bombs, ozone holes, better put up my umbrella!
Giant stacks blowin' smoke
Politicrits pushin' dope
All I know, we've got to change what's happening
Something good could happen
I feel light has got to come through, and I need it
Something big and lovely
I want the world to change for me, gotta get away, away from Z
Living on the edge of Z
Waste dumps, toxic fog, irradiate and keep it fresh forever
Good old boys tellin' lies
'Bout time I got wise
Getting nothing but static (static)
Getting nothing but static (static)
Static in my attic from Channel Z
Getting nothing but static (static)
Getting nothing but static (static)
Static in my attic from Channel Z
Gotta tune in, pico waves, gotta tune out, PCBs
Gotta tune in, market crash, gotta tune out, polar shift
Gotta tune in, narrow minds, gotta tune out, space junk
Gotta tune in, bombs, gotta turn out, atomic lasers falling from the sky
Where's my umbrella?
Gonna shoot that static down the drain (where's my umbrella?)
Gonna put that static out of my brain (where's my umbrella?)
Gonna put up my antennae (free, ow!)
Hamburger ads
Pop up in my head
On the edge of Aquarius (secret wars!)
I'm living on the edge (take my money away)
I know I feel a change is happening
Something good will happen
I feel love is coming on strong, and I want it
We can make it happen
I want the world to change for me
Gotta get away, away from Z
Living on the edge of Z
Channel Z's all static, all day, forever (whoa-oh)
Time to open your windows, let in better weather (whoa-oh)
Channel Z's all static, all day, forever
Time to take this information and shove it in the shredder
More trash, more dips, space junk, narrow minds, aah! (whoa-oh)
Getting nothing but static, getting nothing but static
Static in my attic from Channel Z
Getting nothing but static, getting nothing but static
Static filling my attic from Channel Z
I don't know, I feel like something's happening
Something good is happening
I feel love has got to come on, and I want it
Something big and lovely
I want the world to change for me
Gotta get away, away from Z
Living on the edge of Z
Space junk, laser bombs, ozone holes, better put up my umbrella!
Giant stacks blowin' smoke
Politicrits pushin' dope
All I know, we've got to change what's happening
Something good could happen
I feel light has got to come through, and I need it
Something big and lovely
I want the world to change for me, gotta get away, away from Z
Living on the edge of Z
Waste dumps, toxic fog, irradiate and keep it fresh forever
Good old boys tellin' lies
'Bout time I got wise
Getting nothing but static (static)
Getting nothing but static (static)
Static in my attic from Channel Z
Getting nothing but static (static)
Getting nothing but static (static)
Static in my attic from Channel Z
Gotta tune in, pico waves, gotta tune out, PCBs
Gotta tune in, market crash, gotta tune out, polar shift
Gotta tune in, narrow minds, gotta tune out, space junk
Gotta tune in, bombs, gotta turn out, atomic lasers falling from the sky
Where's my umbrella?
Gonna shoot that static down the drain (where's my umbrella?)
Gonna put that static out of my brain (where's my umbrella?)
Gonna put up my antennae (free, ow!)
Hamburger ads
Pop up in my head
On the edge of Aquarius (secret wars!)
I'm living on the edge (take my money away)
I know I feel a change is happening
Something good will happen
I feel love is coming on strong, and I want it
We can make it happen
I want the world to change for me
Gotta get away, away from Z
Living on the edge of Z
Channel Z's all static, all day, forever (whoa-oh)
Time to open your windows, let in better weather (whoa-oh)
Channel Z's all static, all day, forever
Time to take this information and shove it in the shredder
More trash, more dips, space junk, narrow minds, aah! (whoa-oh)
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
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.
This is a rather satirical song about how humans know that many of the things we do to the environment are bad but do it anyway. They also warn about the dangers of spinning the truth around so much and sugar-coating things that it makes it impossible to know what the truth is. They are also encouraging others to change the way we are going.