"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.
Oh, it's a strange day
In such a lonely way
I saw some children dance
I watched my life in a trance
And the people around me
Seemed so glad to be here
Will my time pass so slowly
On the day that I fear?
And the noise that surrounds me
Pulls so loud in my head
From the promise that healed us
To the lies that I said
Oh, it's a strange day
In such a lonely way
Some people look down on me,
I know they like what they see
Strange day,
Such a strange day
Such a strange day
In such a lonely way
I saw some children dance
I watched my life in a trance
And the people around me
Seemed so glad to be here
Will my time pass so slowly
On the day that I fear?
And the noise that surrounds me
Pulls so loud in my head
From the promise that healed us
To the lies that I said
Oh, it's a strange day
In such a lonely way
Some people look down on me,
I know they like what they see
Strange day,
Such a strange day
Such a strange day
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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.
"I saw some children dance I watched my life in a trance" "And the noise that surrounds me Pulls so loud in my head"
I know that feeling, like you need to step outside yourself and look at things because things in your life are going so horribly and you're enveloped in a mood of melancholy. It seems like when you're in that mood, there's this driving force, this "noise" in your head, that give you a sense of urgency to stop whatever's bothering you; I usually consider it pure desperation.
"From the promise that healed us To the lies that I said Oh, it's a strange day In such a lonely way Some people look down on me, I know they like what they see"
Sounds like he hates himself and he hates his life, but he's trying to comfort himself by saying that people in heaven still approve of him? Just a theory.