"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.
They love the taste of blood
Now I don't know what that means, but I know that I mean it
Maybe they're as evil as they seem
Or maybe I only look out the window when it's scenic
"Atmosphere finally made a good record."
Yeah right, that shit almost sounds convincing
The last time I felt as sick and contradictive as this
Was the last time we played a show in Cinnci'
"Get real." They tell me
If only they knew how real this life really gets
They would stop acting like a silly bitch
They would respect the cock whether or not they believed in it
Doesn't take much and that's messed up
Because these people do a lot of simple shit to impress us
While everyone was trying to out-do the last man
I was just a ghost trying to catch some Ms. Pac-man
Hello ma'am, would you be interested
In some sexual positions and emotional investments
See, I'm not insane, in fact I'm kind of rational
When I be askin', "Yo, where did all the passion go?"
East coast, West coast, down South, Midwest
Nowadays everybody knows how to get fresh
Somebody give me a big yes (YES!)
God Bless America, but she stole the 'B' from "Bless" (And kept it!)
Now I'm too fucked up to dance
So I'ma sit with my hand down the front of my pants
You can't achieve your goals if you don't take that chance
So go pry open that trunk and get those amps (You know!)
In the days of Kings and Queens I was a jester
Treat me like a God, oh they treat me like a leper
You see me move back and forth between both
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to build a balance
In the days of Kings and Queens I was a jester
Treat me like a God, oh they treat me like a leper
You see me move back and forth between both
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to build a balance
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to build a balance
So now I keep a close eye on my pets
Because they make most of they moves off of instinct and sense
It's eat, sleep, fuck in self defense
So straight you can set your clocks and place bets
Wait, let's prey on blind, deaf, dumb, dead
Hustle, maybe a couple will love what you said
Emcees drag their feet across a big naked land
With an empty bag of seed and a fake shake of hands
Yeah I got some last words, fuck all of y'all!
Stop writin' raps and go play volleyball
Gotta journey the world in a hurry
'Cause my attorney didn't put enough girls on the jury
Guilty of droppin' these bombs in the city
But I'm innocent, love is the motive that's why you're killin 'em
Guilty of settin' my fire in all fifty
But I'm innocent, blame it on my equilibrium
In the days of Kings and Queens I was a jester
Treat me like a God, oh they treat me like a leper
You see me move back and forth between both
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to build a balance
In the days of Kings and Queens I was a jester
Treat me like a God, oh they treat me like a leper
You see me move back and forth between both
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to build a balance
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to build a balance
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to build a balance
I gotta find my balance
I gotta find my balance
Now all my friends are famous
It's either one thing or another
They all don't know what my name is
Probably know both of my brothers
The one is a hard workin' savior
The other's a hard workin' soldier
I'm just your next door neighbor
Workin' hard at tryin' to stay sober
You wait for the car at the corner
Pretend like you know what the plot is
Won't quit till I hit California
And make you my Golden State goddess
Now I don't know what that means, but I know that I mean it
Maybe they're as evil as they seem
Or maybe I only look out the window when it's scenic
"Atmosphere finally made a good record."
Yeah right, that shit almost sounds convincing
The last time I felt as sick and contradictive as this
Was the last time we played a show in Cinnci'
"Get real." They tell me
If only they knew how real this life really gets
They would stop acting like a silly bitch
They would respect the cock whether or not they believed in it
Doesn't take much and that's messed up
Because these people do a lot of simple shit to impress us
While everyone was trying to out-do the last man
I was just a ghost trying to catch some Ms. Pac-man
Hello ma'am, would you be interested
In some sexual positions and emotional investments
See, I'm not insane, in fact I'm kind of rational
When I be askin', "Yo, where did all the passion go?"
East coast, West coast, down South, Midwest
Nowadays everybody knows how to get fresh
Somebody give me a big yes (YES!)
God Bless America, but she stole the 'B' from "Bless" (And kept it!)
Now I'm too fucked up to dance
So I'ma sit with my hand down the front of my pants
You can't achieve your goals if you don't take that chance
So go pry open that trunk and get those amps (You know!)
In the days of Kings and Queens I was a jester
Treat me like a God, oh they treat me like a leper
You see me move back and forth between both
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to build a balance
In the days of Kings and Queens I was a jester
Treat me like a God, oh they treat me like a leper
You see me move back and forth between both
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to build a balance
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to build a balance
So now I keep a close eye on my pets
Because they make most of they moves off of instinct and sense
It's eat, sleep, fuck in self defense
So straight you can set your clocks and place bets
Wait, let's prey on blind, deaf, dumb, dead
Hustle, maybe a couple will love what you said
Emcees drag their feet across a big naked land
With an empty bag of seed and a fake shake of hands
Yeah I got some last words, fuck all of y'all!
Stop writin' raps and go play volleyball
Gotta journey the world in a hurry
'Cause my attorney didn't put enough girls on the jury
Guilty of droppin' these bombs in the city
But I'm innocent, love is the motive that's why you're killin 'em
Guilty of settin' my fire in all fifty
But I'm innocent, blame it on my equilibrium
In the days of Kings and Queens I was a jester
Treat me like a God, oh they treat me like a leper
You see me move back and forth between both
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to build a balance
In the days of Kings and Queens I was a jester
Treat me like a God, oh they treat me like a leper
You see me move back and forth between both
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to build a balance
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to build a balance
I'm trying to find a balance
I'm trying to build a balance
I gotta find my balance
I gotta find my balance
Now all my friends are famous
It's either one thing or another
They all don't know what my name is
Probably know both of my brothers
The one is a hard workin' savior
The other's a hard workin' soldier
I'm just your next door neighbor
Workin' hard at tryin' to stay sober
You wait for the car at the corner
Pretend like you know what the plot is
Won't quit till I hit California
And make you my Golden State goddess
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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.
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”
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.
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.
uhm, musiking. it is definitely "instinct and SENSE" if you listen to it closely, it is pretty obvious. and if you have seen him live, then you would know. :].