"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.
Torment the tortured, teach me things
I'm so alive
Speak to the speechless
Seek the things
You have inside
You can hunt for the hunter
He's got nowhere to hide
You can seek with the seeker
But hold on for the ride
Keep it coming I'm going all the way
Keep it coming I'm going all the way
Give me a half a chance
From throwing it all away
Run to the place that hides the pain
You have inside
Cover my chain it hides the strain
Only to glide
You can hunt for the hunter
He's got nowhere to hide
You can seek with the seeker
But hold on for the ride
Keep it coming I'm going all the way
Keep it coming I'm going all the way
Give me a half a chance
From throwing it all away
There's nowhere to turn to nowhere
There's nowhere to run
You can fly with the fader, fly it
Fly it on the run
There is nowhere to turn to nowhere
There is nowhere to run
You can fly with the fader, fly it
Fly it on the run
Oh-oh, oh-oh
It's too late, time is gone
Later on again 'cause no one's leaving
It's too late, time is gone
Later on again 'cause no one's leaving
Now
Look away
There's nowhere to turn to nowhere
There's nowhere to run
You can fly with the fader, fly it
Fly it on the run
There is nowhere to turn to nowhere
There is nowhere to run
You can fly with the fader, fly it
Fly it on the run
Oh-oh, oh-oh
I'm so alive
Speak to the speechless
Seek the things
You have inside
You can hunt for the hunter
He's got nowhere to hide
You can seek with the seeker
But hold on for the ride
Keep it coming I'm going all the way
Keep it coming I'm going all the way
Give me a half a chance
From throwing it all away
Run to the place that hides the pain
You have inside
Cover my chain it hides the strain
Only to glide
You can hunt for the hunter
He's got nowhere to hide
You can seek with the seeker
But hold on for the ride
Keep it coming I'm going all the way
Keep it coming I'm going all the way
Give me a half a chance
From throwing it all away
There's nowhere to turn to nowhere
There's nowhere to run
You can fly with the fader, fly it
Fly it on the run
There is nowhere to turn to nowhere
There is nowhere to run
You can fly with the fader, fly it
Fly it on the run
Oh-oh, oh-oh
It's too late, time is gone
Later on again 'cause no one's leaving
It's too late, time is gone
Later on again 'cause no one's leaving
Now
Look away
There's nowhere to turn to nowhere
There's nowhere to run
You can fly with the fader, fly it
Fly it on the run
There is nowhere to turn to nowhere
There is nowhere to run
You can fly with the fader, fly it
Fly it on the run
Oh-oh, oh-oh
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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.
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.
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.
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.
To me this song is about redemption. It's probably about Scott's drug problems, but to me it's about seeking a second chance in life or even a second chance with a relationship (any kind of relationship). At the same time, he accepts the fact that it's hopeless and "there is nowhere to fly", but still hopes for even "half a chance".
BTW, Top 5 best songs EVER!