"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.
Sweet darlin'
You saved me
I'm hummin'
From the lovin'
You gave me
You went so far
Where my feelings are
Breathing heaven fire
Sweet darlin'
I know you
You stopped running
You knew I had something
To show you
The fever tamed
Like an angel came
Made music of my name
Sweet darlin'
Early that morning we knew I had to fly
Engines were screaming and still I was asking myself why
High on the wind I was feeling my sweet darlin' cry
My heart was breaking
I closed my eyes
Darlin'
Can you hear me
We can't be wrong
The night's song
Pulls you near me
Time just falls
Distance small
I feel you all
Sweet darlin'
You saved me
I'm hummin'
From the lovin'
You gave me
You went so far
Where my feelings are
Breathing heaven fire
Sweet darlin'
I know you
You stopped running
You knew I had something
To show you
The fever tamed
Like an angel came
Made music of my name
Sweet darlin'
Early that morning we knew I had to fly
Engines were screaming and still I was asking myself why
High on the wind I was feeling my sweet darlin' cry
My heart was breaking
I closed my eyes
Darlin'
Can you hear me
We can't be wrong
The night's song
Pulls you near me
Time just falls
Distance small
I feel you all
Sweet darlin'
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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/
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
I can't believe nobody has ever commented on this song. This is big.
Yes, I agree so big in meaning yet put simply. A real woman's song, from the heart. A woman loves with the whole of her being, literally humming throughout her whole body both in the emotional and physical sense. Also the highs and lows of human emotions, fear, "you stopped runnin"; again, everything seems perfect when love calls "an angel called my name" and as with the humming the ecstatic feeling. In the end though is separation, we can borrow from but never completly be what another gives us....all in a beautiful love song.