"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.
Unbound to the pale and lifeless day by the multi-colored, multiform
A spinning anti-dream unthought. Exceeding the obsolete reality
Overheated inner shape generator. Blowing every cerebral fuse
Insanity filtered and systematized. Feeding the tools of mind abuse
Mind signal transmission peaked, distorted, bent, unrestrained
Neuro receivers short circuit. System parameters over gained
Nerve threads decoding the stream of the reality inverting revolution
The patterned untruth of nondream, the closed eye visual delusion
A frantic cellular race down the switchbacks of mind
Throttling the existenc eengine. A propulsion beyond all limit lines
Convulsive thrusts of septic energy as infected cells collide
Unleashing the video bacterial disease. The sinew conducted pseudovision
Mind signal transmission peaked, distorted, bent, unrestrained
Neuro receivers short circuit. System parameters over gained
Nerve threads decoding the stream of the reality inverting revolution
The patterned untruth of nondream, the closed eye visual delusion
Self unfolds like a disintegrating dream
All revealed but the sinister cause
My lying eyes come apart at the seams
Still how could I ever regret the loss
The self transformed into wave lengths,
Reverberating this unyielding dream. Lost in this greedy illusion
I'm forever devoured by the closed eye visual delusion
A twirling visual overload Explosions of terror and beauty
Colors of fear and pain within clash into unanything
A spectra organic frenzy setting fire to the neuro highways of mind
Revolving me away from time. A soul now rendered unassigned
A spinning anti-dream unthought. Exceeding the obsolete reality
Overheated inner shape generator. Blowing every cerebral fuse
Insanity filtered and systematized. Feeding the tools of mind abuse
Mind signal transmission peaked, distorted, bent, unrestrained
Neuro receivers short circuit. System parameters over gained
Nerve threads decoding the stream of the reality inverting revolution
The patterned untruth of nondream, the closed eye visual delusion
A frantic cellular race down the switchbacks of mind
Throttling the existenc eengine. A propulsion beyond all limit lines
Convulsive thrusts of septic energy as infected cells collide
Unleashing the video bacterial disease. The sinew conducted pseudovision
Mind signal transmission peaked, distorted, bent, unrestrained
Neuro receivers short circuit. System parameters over gained
Nerve threads decoding the stream of the reality inverting revolution
The patterned untruth of nondream, the closed eye visual delusion
Self unfolds like a disintegrating dream
All revealed but the sinister cause
My lying eyes come apart at the seams
Still how could I ever regret the loss
The self transformed into wave lengths,
Reverberating this unyielding dream. Lost in this greedy illusion
I'm forever devoured by the closed eye visual delusion
A twirling visual overload Explosions of terror and beauty
Colors of fear and pain within clash into unanything
A spectra organic frenzy setting fire to the neuro highways of mind
Revolving me away from time. A soul now rendered unassigned
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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,
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
I believe this song is simply a break down of dream. "Closed Eye Visuals" in my mind, refer to a dream. You see images in your sleep, and they reflect on images, thoughts, sounds, and feelings you've experienced when you're awake.
They some how "Sum" it up (hahaha, get it?) by saying that in our dreams anything is possible, becuase in your mind you have "A propulsion beyond all limit lines" and such. Your mind is made of physical matter, flesh, cells, and these neural transmitters that use physical electrons to form images in your head when your sleeping. From my examination of the lyrics, it could be exploring a possibility that the mind is always awake, just switching from one zone to another. I don't know.
Not to sound rude but I think your interpretation is off. I'm not going to lie it was a good one but this song is obviously about frying on acid or any other psychedelic. If you've ever tripped before you would know that this song just hits the mark perfectly on describing the experience.
If Meshuggah would've ever wanted to talk about tripping balls they would've done it on D.E.I or even Chaosphere or before that. Even Stengah talks about freeing yourself from the dependancy to these substances. I like this interpretation.