"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.
Reconcile to the belief
Consumed in sacred ground for me
There wasn't always a place to go
But there was always an urgent need to belong yeah
All these bands and all these people
All these friends and we were equals
But what you gonna do when everybody goes on without you?
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, yeah
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
Started in '87 ended in '89
Got a garage or an amp we'll play anytime
It was just the four of us yeah man the core of us
Too much attention unavoidably destroyed us
Four kids on tour, three thousand miles
In a four door car not know what was going on
We got a million years touring out like this
Hell no no premonition could have seen this
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, yeah
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
Matty came from far away
From New Orleans, then into the East Bay
He said this is a mecca
I said this ain't no mecca man, this place is fucked
Three months go by, he had no home
He had no food, he's all alone
Matty said fool me once, shame on you
He said fool me twice, he went back to New Orleans
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, yeah
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
Consumed in sacred ground for me
There wasn't always a place to go
But there was always an urgent need to belong yeah
All these bands and all these people
All these friends and we were equals
But what you gonna do when everybody goes on without you?
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, yeah
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
Started in '87 ended in '89
Got a garage or an amp we'll play anytime
It was just the four of us yeah man the core of us
Too much attention unavoidably destroyed us
Four kids on tour, three thousand miles
In a four door car not know what was going on
We got a million years touring out like this
Hell no no premonition could have seen this
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, yeah
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
Matty came from far away
From New Orleans, then into the East Bay
He said this is a mecca
I said this ain't no mecca man, this place is fucked
Three months go by, he had no home
He had no food, he's all alone
Matty said fool me once, shame on you
He said fool me twice, he went back to New Orleans
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, yeah
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
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.
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,
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
well this song is great it is about operation ivy breaking up