"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 see you're moving, see you're moving, moving in with her
You'll pierce your right ear, pierce your heart here
The skinny boy is one of the girls
'Cause around my neck and around her neck hangs everything you are
I know you've been inside, what were you in for?
Animal lover, animal lover, animal lover
La la la la la
I see you're moving see you're moving like wildlife from the waist
But when your name's scratched in on a shiny ring
Your waist is my resting place
And around my neck and around her neck hangs everything you are
I know you've been inside but what were you in for?
Animal lover, animal lover, animal lover
La la la la la
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
You'll pierce your right ear, pierce your heart here
The skinny boy is one of the girls
'Cause around my neck and around her neck hangs everything you are
I know you've been inside, what were you in for?
Animal lover, animal lover, animal lover
La la la la la
I see you're moving see you're moving like wildlife from the waist
But when your name's scratched in on a shiny ring
Your waist is my resting place
And around my neck and around her neck hangs everything you are
I know you've been inside but what were you in for?
Animal lover, animal lover, animal lover
La la la la la
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
Animal lover, animal lover
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
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”
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
justine's a no-talent ho. aside from that, bernard's guitar is incredible on this track as it takes us to the climactic ending.