"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.
A thought that never changes
Remains a stupid lie
It's never been quite the same
No hearing or breathing
No movement, no colors
Just silence
Rise and fall of shame
A search that shall remain
We asked you what you'd seen
You said you didn't care
Sound formed in a vacuum
May seem a waste of time
It's always been just the same
No hearing or breathing
No movement no lyrics
Just nothing
The sign that leads the way
The path we can not take
You've caught me at a bad time
So why don't you piss off
Remains a stupid lie
It's never been quite the same
No hearing or breathing
No movement, no colors
Just silence
Rise and fall of shame
A search that shall remain
We asked you what you'd seen
You said you didn't care
Sound formed in a vacuum
May seem a waste of time
It's always been just the same
No hearing or breathing
No movement no lyrics
Just nothing
The sign that leads the way
The path we can not take
You've caught me at a bad time
So why don't you piss off
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.
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”
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.
I'm far from being sure about the point of this one, but I'm gonna try to find it anyway...
Well, I think it's about a person who is trying to find a new meaning for his own life after witnessing (or even taking part in) something shameful ("Rise and fall of shame / A search that shall remain / We asked you what you'd seen / You said you didn't care"), so he put himself in a kind of meditational trip, which has really bothered his friends ("The sign that leads the way / The path we can not take / You've caught me at a bad time / So why don't you piss off") 'cos now he's living a life in 'black&white' and practically without communication for trying 'to see the light in the end of the tunnel' at last.
Regarding more specifically these lines below, I think Barney meant he's so busy at that 'trip' that he cannot even for a second consider other opinions, nevertheless their friends still have some hope about his return to mental sanity.
"A thought that never changes Remains a stupid lie It's NEVER been quite the same No hearing or breathing No movement, no colors Just silence"
And their friends are almost giving up for trying to bring him back to the reality ("Sound formed in a vacuum / May seem a waste of time / It's ALWAYS been just the same")...
In short, I think Barney is making a mockery of that 'guru' thing, despite the solemn tone of its melody...