"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'm in love with a girl
That I used to know
It's tearing me up inside
I miss her
Everyday of my life
I'll miss her
'Til the day I die
I've got secrets
I keep to myself
I won't tell anybody
No no
But I just want you to myself
I won't tell anybody
No no
Let me spell it out
To make it clear
I'm dying without you here
I said
I'll be just fine
But I'm not
I'm not okay
Still missing you everyday
I still love the girl
I used to know
It's eating me alive
I want her
Everyday of my life
I'll want her
'Til the day I die
She's the secret I keep to myself
I won't tell anybody
No no
And I just want her to myself
I won't tell anybody
No no
Let me spell it out to make it clear
I'm dying without you here
I said
I'll be just fine
But I'm not
I'm not okay
Still missing you everyday
Let me spell it out
So you can hear
I'm dying without you dear
I said
I'll be just fine
But I'm not
I'm not okay
Still missing you in every way
I sit and wait for you
To come home
But you're never coming back
So I just sit here alone
By my phone
Waiting for you to tell me
Tell me that you love me
And that you'll never leave
I will say the exact same thing
I will never leave
Let me spell it out
To make it clear
I'm dying without you here
I said
I'll be just fine
But I'm not
I'm not okay
Still missing you everyday
Let me spell it out
So you can hear
I'm dying without you dear
I said
I'll be just fine
But I'm not
I'm not okay
Still missing you in every way
That I used to know
It's tearing me up inside
I miss her
Everyday of my life
I'll miss her
'Til the day I die
I've got secrets
I keep to myself
I won't tell anybody
No no
But I just want you to myself
I won't tell anybody
No no
Let me spell it out
To make it clear
I'm dying without you here
I said
I'll be just fine
But I'm not
I'm not okay
Still missing you everyday
I still love the girl
I used to know
It's eating me alive
I want her
Everyday of my life
I'll want her
'Til the day I die
She's the secret I keep to myself
I won't tell anybody
No no
And I just want her to myself
I won't tell anybody
No no
Let me spell it out to make it clear
I'm dying without you here
I said
I'll be just fine
But I'm not
I'm not okay
Still missing you everyday
Let me spell it out
So you can hear
I'm dying without you dear
I said
I'll be just fine
But I'm not
I'm not okay
Still missing you in every way
I sit and wait for you
To come home
But you're never coming back
So I just sit here alone
By my phone
Waiting for you to tell me
Tell me that you love me
And that you'll never leave
I will say the exact same thing
I will never leave
Let me spell it out
To make it clear
I'm dying without you here
I said
I'll be just fine
But I'm not
I'm not okay
Still missing you everyday
Let me spell it out
So you can hear
I'm dying without you dear
I said
I'll be just fine
But I'm not
I'm not okay
Still missing you in every way
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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.
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 song came out about the same time I discovered that the person I was married to was not the person I was in love with.