"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.
Come back home for another year
And find yourself in the thick of it
Come back home for another year
I always thought that you could handle this
And you know you're hard enough
And you find you're strong enough
And you feel you're strong enough
Come back home for another year
And ask yourself if you could handle this
Say my name before you disappear
I always thought that you could handle this
And you know you're hard enough
And you find you're strong enough
And you feel you're strong enough
In your life, you can talk about it
Oh in your life, you can live without
Can live without
And you know you're hard enough
And you find you're strong enough
Oh yeah you'll find you're hard enough
Oh yeah you'll find you're strong enough
Come back home
Yeah, come back home.
And find yourself in the thick of it
Come back home for another year
I always thought that you could handle this
And you know you're hard enough
And you find you're strong enough
And you feel you're strong enough
Come back home for another year
And ask yourself if you could handle this
Say my name before you disappear
I always thought that you could handle this
And you know you're hard enough
And you find you're strong enough
And you feel you're strong enough
In your life, you can talk about it
Oh in your life, you can live without
Can live without
And you know you're hard enough
And you find you're strong enough
Oh yeah you'll find you're hard enough
Oh yeah you'll find you're strong enough
Come back home
Yeah, come back home.
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
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,
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
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.
Obviously, if you've seen the video, it's all about Pete returning home and asking himself why he ever left.
isn't it just about what it's like to COME BACK HOME? hehe... (=
I like in the video when he mouths "Badlands" and does the fist thing. Yay Bruce!
Strong song. Battle cry to be strong and feel your strength. Love it.