"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'm a long list with no time
Sunset panic on the street
Sugar and lightbulbs
The milk of kindness is behind us now
With all those stones in your coat
Did you think they wouldn't know?
The tea leaves of trashed sheets
Dirty needles and sweets
Zero to heaven in seven
A lifetime
A nanosecond
All the sand in your glass
Is going by so fast
The radio is playing our tune
I love it could you turn it down
The thought of you crying in my room
I miss you could you come around
Sometime?
When the night comes down
The world becomes a room
Under a microscope
With a labcoat and glue
I'm fixing this hole
With everything I knew
The music is making my head split
I love it could you turn it off
The thought of you is tearing me in two
I miss you could you come around
Sometime
Sometime
This list is what went right
Your name is written twice
We live like astronauts
And our missions never cross
The stakes are high
We're standing by
There used to be a hundred ways to put my arms around you
Every one seemed new
Natural and true
Perfecting loneliness
Til nothing's holding us
Consider earth
We could be the first
Sunset panic on the street
Sugar and lightbulbs
The milk of kindness is behind us now
With all those stones in your coat
Did you think they wouldn't know?
The tea leaves of trashed sheets
Dirty needles and sweets
Zero to heaven in seven
A lifetime
A nanosecond
All the sand in your glass
Is going by so fast
The radio is playing our tune
I love it could you turn it down
The thought of you crying in my room
I miss you could you come around
Sometime?
When the night comes down
The world becomes a room
Under a microscope
With a labcoat and glue
I'm fixing this hole
With everything I knew
The music is making my head split
I love it could you turn it off
The thought of you is tearing me in two
I miss you could you come around
Sometime
Sometime
This list is what went right
Your name is written twice
We live like astronauts
And our missions never cross
The stakes are high
We're standing by
There used to be a hundred ways to put my arms around you
Every one seemed new
Natural and true
Perfecting loneliness
Til nothing's holding us
Consider earth
We could be the first
Lyrics submitted by jawbrokenrhymes, edited by ExtraFox
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
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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.
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.
Awesome song, sounds a lot like Lemon Yellow Black in the beginning, but whos complaining, JTB rules