"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 clench my teeth and realize
My world is so near its demise
A dying sun in a poisonous sky
Stinging my eyes
Burning with contempt and conflict
As of now
I am a tool
Of severe impact
I clench my fist and visualize
The blood that is spilled is our own
I open wide my bloodshot eyes
Count the dead
A result of dysfunction
As of now
I am a tool
Of severe impact
Hammer down
Cause and effect
And create a new world
Pound, drive, swing, strike
Break down, smash down
Pound and drive, swing and strike
Break it down
I am a tool
As of now
I am a tool
Of severe impact
Hammer down
Cause and effect
And create a new world
I am a tool
I am a tool to break down
Break it down and smash it all away
My world is so near its demise
A dying sun in a poisonous sky
Stinging my eyes
Burning with contempt and conflict
As of now
I am a tool
Of severe impact
I clench my fist and visualize
The blood that is spilled is our own
I open wide my bloodshot eyes
Count the dead
A result of dysfunction
As of now
I am a tool
Of severe impact
Hammer down
Cause and effect
And create a new world
Pound, drive, swing, strike
Break down, smash down
Pound and drive, swing and strike
Break it down
I am a tool
As of now
I am a tool
Of severe impact
Hammer down
Cause and effect
And create a new world
I am a tool
I am a tool to break down
Break it down and smash it all away
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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”
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/
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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
The song is loosely based on the Tetsuo series of body-horror films by Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto, specifically Tetsuo 2: Body Hammer. The premise of the movie is that the protaginist's body starts transforming into a mass of scrap metal after falling into a fit of rage because of his son's murder and subsequently seeking vengeance against those who were responsible for it.
Correction. His son's kidnapping. Not murder.
Its about the breaking point of a human being where they stop being a human being, because of their anger they are now a tool, ready to crush.
fuckin love this song, so angry.
well said
I took this as a worrior or Fighter in the army or navy fighting down... Feeling like a killing machine, a tool... a body hammer... And the agression is just cool! But when I first heard this song I thought he was saying "I am a fool to break down...
You gotta hear this song with BASS HIGH.
and yes a good review by Bodyhammer
I'm gonna take Body Hammer's word for it haha.
I'm gonna take Body Hammer's word for it haha.
FF's songs usually have two meanings, the story part (as a concept album) and the deeper part. "Body Hammer" probably got the latter.
More directly anyway, it probably has something to do with some character's anger serving as a tool in some way for some machine related entity.
i think it' all about betrayal of society around us. a lot of people can happily go through so much bs in life and still be ok with it all. but maybe someone such as the "man" in the song just cant take the narrowminded-ness and bs of life anymore because he realises it is all a bunch of lies, ways to make money, no one really cares about anything and he thought it was all a good world when it really isnt...
you as a listener must have at some point in life felt so mad that you daydream of going on a killing spree against the people in the world you hate the most, smashing their face in, destroying them over and over and feeling extremely powerful crushing everything... this is pretty much the song. a man gone absolutely insane, mega pissed off, and wants to burn everything.