"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.
Romaji Lyrics
Itetsuku yami no naka kakenuketa ano koro
Uragiru koto sae mo tamerawazu eranda
Gin-iro no kami nabikase Yabou ni moeta
Koori no kokoro tokenai
My Dark Side
Kare kusa ni nekorobi Hitori nemuru yoru wa
Fukushuu no yume dake jagan no saki ni mita
Nozomarete umarete kita
Waka ja nai no sa
Honoo no kokoro kesenai
My Dark Side
Kawaita kaze ga fuku makai de ikite kita
Namida sae shirazu ni chikara dake tayori ni
Hateshinai kioku wa sou
Tatakai no shiin
Samayou kokoro kizanda
My Dark Side
Samayou kokoro kizanda
My Dark Side
Itetsuku yami no naka kakenuketa ano koro
Uragiru koto sae mo tamerawazu eranda
Gin-iro no kami nabikase Yabou ni moeta
Koori no kokoro tokenai
My Dark Side
Kare kusa ni nekorobi Hitori nemuru yoru wa
Fukushuu no yume dake jagan no saki ni mita
Nozomarete umarete kita
Waka ja nai no sa
Honoo no kokoro kesenai
My Dark Side
Kawaita kaze ga fuku makai de ikite kita
Namida sae shirazu ni chikara dake tayori ni
Hateshinai kioku wa sou
Tatakai no shiin
Samayou kokoro kizanda
My Dark Side
Samayou kokoro kizanda
My Dark Side
Lyrics submitted by ruben
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
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
English Translation
Freezing the darkness inside, running through that thing before me I won't even hesitate to betray it
The silver god wins Using his blazing ambition His icy heart melts... My Dark Side
Alone, he lies down in the grass to sleep at night Revenge is in his dreams, sharp as the tip of a knife
I wish to be reborn And see the difference between birth and death
The flames of rage in my heart subside My Dark Side
The hungry wind blows away everything but Hell The tears don't even command strength, only dependance
The unending memories are destroyed Battle is the cause of death
To wander through a bleeding heart My Dark Side
To wander through a bleeding heart My Dark Side