"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.
Mind, filled with fairy tales. New ones every day, don't ask me anything now,
I know what you're waiting.
The curtain to fall.
Names don't mean anything, hear the lady sing.
All human rights are now cancelled, you need to handle.
The dreams of the day.
You've hurt them many times, why apologize.
"They were the ones who were wrong, what are they waiting?" " Give them a vail."
"Oh, be my valentine", play along with an angel with silver tongue, play with a stranger.
I never saw anything so white. Call me Ishmael, if it ain't a lie.
I am blinded by your revealing smile.
I can only be guilty of an innocent try.
You think you are right, in a way. It is something I hear every day.
I cannot understand you, to me you live in a world of chaos.
Life is a play you star on, to you it's all a game.
Why can't I leave today, and escape your funny ways.
You are a one person riot, far in the horizon.
Done for the day.
I outsmart you. I am wise, I defeat you any way I like.
But you got me forced into a fall. I am your slave, down on the floor.
I never saw anything so white. Call me Ishmael, if it ain't a lie.
I am blinded by your revealing smile.
I can only be guilty of an innocent try.
You think you are right, in a way. It is something I hear every day.
I cannot understand you, to me you live in a world of chaos.
Life is a play you star on, to you it's all a game of chaos.
I do feel stronger now, why am I still here with you.
You and your silver tongue, why do I still play with you.
I never saw anything so white. Call me Ishmael, if it ain't a lie.
I am blinded by your revealing smile.
I can only be guilty of an innocent try.
You think you are right, in a way. It is something I hear every day.
I cannot understand you, to me you live in a world of chaos.
Life is a play you star on, to you it's all a game of chaos.
I cannot understand you, to me you live in a world of chaos.
Life is a play you star on, to you it's all a game you play with me.
I know what you're waiting.
The curtain to fall.
Names don't mean anything, hear the lady sing.
All human rights are now cancelled, you need to handle.
The dreams of the day.
You've hurt them many times, why apologize.
"They were the ones who were wrong, what are they waiting?" " Give them a vail."
"Oh, be my valentine", play along with an angel with silver tongue, play with a stranger.
I never saw anything so white. Call me Ishmael, if it ain't a lie.
I am blinded by your revealing smile.
I can only be guilty of an innocent try.
You think you are right, in a way. It is something I hear every day.
I cannot understand you, to me you live in a world of chaos.
Life is a play you star on, to you it's all a game.
Why can't I leave today, and escape your funny ways.
You are a one person riot, far in the horizon.
Done for the day.
I outsmart you. I am wise, I defeat you any way I like.
But you got me forced into a fall. I am your slave, down on the floor.
I never saw anything so white. Call me Ishmael, if it ain't a lie.
I am blinded by your revealing smile.
I can only be guilty of an innocent try.
You think you are right, in a way. It is something I hear every day.
I cannot understand you, to me you live in a world of chaos.
Life is a play you star on, to you it's all a game of chaos.
I do feel stronger now, why am I still here with you.
You and your silver tongue, why do I still play with you.
I never saw anything so white. Call me Ishmael, if it ain't a lie.
I am blinded by your revealing smile.
I can only be guilty of an innocent try.
You think you are right, in a way. It is something I hear every day.
I cannot understand you, to me you live in a world of chaos.
Life is a play you star on, to you it's all a game of chaos.
I cannot understand you, to me you live in a world of chaos.
Life is a play you star on, to you it's all a game you play with me.
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
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
In addition to the above; also:
"all human rights are now cancelled,"