"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.
She grew up with the children of the stars
In the Hollywood hills and the boulevard
Her parents threw big parties, everyone was there
They hung out with folks like
Dennis Hopper and Bob Seeger and Sonny and Cher
She feels safe now, in this bar on Fairfax
And from the stage I can tell that
She can't let go and she can't relax
And just before she hangs her head to cry
I sing to her a lullaby
I sing, everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Rockabye
She still lives with her mom outside the city
Down that street about a half a mile
And all her friends tell her
She's so pretty
But she'd be a whole lot prettier
If she smiled once in a while
'Cause even her smile looks like a frown
She's seen her share of devils in this angel town
But, everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye (dry your tired eyes)
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Rockabye
Ooh, ooh, ahh
I told her I ain't so sure about this place
It's hard to play a gig in this town and keep a straight face
Seems like everybody's got a plan
It's kind of like Nashville with a tan
But Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Everything's gonna be all right (I'll be your every)
Rockabye, rockabye (dry your tired eyes)
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Everything's gonna be all right (I'll be your every)
Rockabye, rockabye (dry your tired eyes)
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye, rockabye, bye, bye (ahh)
Bye, bye
In the Hollywood hills and the boulevard
Her parents threw big parties, everyone was there
They hung out with folks like
Dennis Hopper and Bob Seeger and Sonny and Cher
She feels safe now, in this bar on Fairfax
And from the stage I can tell that
She can't let go and she can't relax
And just before she hangs her head to cry
I sing to her a lullaby
I sing, everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Rockabye
She still lives with her mom outside the city
Down that street about a half a mile
And all her friends tell her
She's so pretty
But she'd be a whole lot prettier
If she smiled once in a while
'Cause even her smile looks like a frown
She's seen her share of devils in this angel town
But, everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye (dry your tired eyes)
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Rockabye
Ooh, ooh, ahh
I told her I ain't so sure about this place
It's hard to play a gig in this town and keep a straight face
Seems like everybody's got a plan
It's kind of like Nashville with a tan
But Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Everything's gonna be all right (I'll be your every)
Rockabye, rockabye (dry your tired eyes)
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye
Everything's gonna be all right (I'll be your every)
Rockabye, rockabye (dry your tired eyes)
Everything's gonna be all right
Rockabye, rockabye, rockabye, bye, bye (ahh)
Bye, bye
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
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Jane's Addiction
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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.
this song tells such an awesome story. here's my interpretation:
"she grew up with the children of the stars in the hollywood hills and the boulevard her parents threw big parties everyone was there they hung out with folks like dennis hopper, bob seeger, sonny and cher" here, he's setting up the story, by telling about her background... how important her family is, thereby, how important she is. she grew up with the children of the stars, so they all live this lifestyle of being children of important people.
"she feels safe now in this bar on fairfax" she's resorting to hiding away in dark bars and drinking to find some kind of solace...
"from those days i can tell that she can't let go and she can't relax." because of her background, she only knows this high-profile, fast-paced life.
"and just before she hangs her head to cry, i sing to her a lullaby." she never had a "real" childhood, and so he's resorting to childhood ideas to calm her down, like a "lullaby". with that imagery, you can picture a mom rocking her child to sleep, but instead it's a boyfriend or someone like that, rocking her to sleep. he's just there to comfort her in her time of sorrow.
"she still lives with her mom outside the city, down that street about a half a mile." she's never had the chance to get away from the life, because she's never too far from the action... only "half a mile" away.
"and all her friends tell her, she's so pretty, but she'd be a whole lot prettier if she'd smile once in awhile. even her smile looks like a frown." she's always "happy", but never "smiles"...
"she's seen her share of devils in this angel town." i assume he means los angeles, the "city of angels"... he's talking about the difference between what you see on the surface, and what's really there... it's ironic that she's seen so much horror in her life, when it all seems like it's supposed to be so attractive.
i can relate to that part... i'm always happy and positive that no one can believe i've been through some hardcore bad stuff...
"i told her i ain't so sure about this place. it's hard to play a gig in this town, and keep a straight face." he finds the plastic-ness of california, and LA, amusing, because it's all so fake.
"it seems like everybody's got a plan. it's kinda like nashville, with a tan." everyone in california seems to have a plan to be famous in some way, just like everyone in nashville's gonna be some famous country singer or whatnot... everyone's "going somewhere"... only with a tan.
in the end, it's a positive message, because she's found someone who cares enough to reach out to her like that, and reassure her that no matter what happens, "everything's gonna be all right". i agree with drenchedinwine... it may be empty promises, but it feels good to hear.