"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.
What's up, baby?
I'm so glad I got you here
I'm so in love with you
And I don't ever wanna lose you
I wanna take this to the next level
I hope you ready
Now that you're here
I got something to say, baby (babe)
I think that you should know
You're doing the most, sugar (sugar)
So don't worry 'bout the situation (situation)
I'd never let you go
Can you handle it, if I go there, baby, with you?
I can handle it, I can go there, baby, with you
(Oh, I hear you talking, babe)
Can you handle it, can I go there, baby, with you?
We gon' set it off, we gon' tear it up
Baby, can you handle?
Woo, baby
You say all the time, you only want the best of my love
Now I can see that there's only one way to tear it up, yeah
I'm willing to tell you everything I let stand between us
But what if I tell you too much?
What about you, babe?
Will you tell me all the freaky things you are?
Before I do, need you to know
If we make it through, our love will grow
Ah, ah-oh, imagine how amazing things would be
Can you handle it, can I go there, baby, with you?
We gon' set it off, we gon' tear it up
Baby, can you handle?
I can handle it, I can go there, baby, with you
(Oh, I hear you talking, babe)
We gon' set it out, we gon' work it out
Baby, can you handle?
Woo, ah yeah, baby
I fear sometimes in my mind
That you won't wanna stay with my love
Oh baby, if I can be sure
Inside out that you know exactly the man that comes to see you
I'll go deep as I can
Giving you the rest of my love
But what if I tell you too much?
So much to explore
So much we have yet to discover
I ask myself, "Should I go there?
Should I do it?" (yeah, ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh)
Can I give it to you fully?
Can you handle it?
Can you handle it, if I go there, baby, with you? (can I go there?)
We gon' lay it out, we gon' tear it up
Baby, can you handle?
I can handle it, I can go there, baby, with you
We gon' set it out, we gon' work it out
Baby, can you handle?
I'm so glad I got you here
I'm so in love with you
And I don't ever wanna lose you
I wanna take this to the next level
I hope you ready
Now that you're here
I got something to say, baby (babe)
I think that you should know
You're doing the most, sugar (sugar)
So don't worry 'bout the situation (situation)
I'd never let you go
Can you handle it, if I go there, baby, with you?
I can handle it, I can go there, baby, with you
(Oh, I hear you talking, babe)
Can you handle it, can I go there, baby, with you?
We gon' set it off, we gon' tear it up
Baby, can you handle?
Woo, baby
You say all the time, you only want the best of my love
Now I can see that there's only one way to tear it up, yeah
I'm willing to tell you everything I let stand between us
But what if I tell you too much?
What about you, babe?
Will you tell me all the freaky things you are?
Before I do, need you to know
If we make it through, our love will grow
Ah, ah-oh, imagine how amazing things would be
Can you handle it, can I go there, baby, with you?
We gon' set it off, we gon' tear it up
Baby, can you handle?
I can handle it, I can go there, baby, with you
(Oh, I hear you talking, babe)
We gon' set it out, we gon' work it out
Baby, can you handle?
Woo, ah yeah, baby
I fear sometimes in my mind
That you won't wanna stay with my love
Oh baby, if I can be sure
Inside out that you know exactly the man that comes to see you
I'll go deep as I can
Giving you the rest of my love
But what if I tell you too much?
So much to explore
So much we have yet to discover
I ask myself, "Should I go there?
Should I do it?" (yeah, ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh)
Can I give it to you fully?
Can you handle it?
Can you handle it, if I go there, baby, with you? (can I go there?)
We gon' lay it out, we gon' tear it up
Baby, can you handle?
I can handle it, I can go there, baby, with you
We gon' set it out, we gon' work it out
Baby, can you handle?
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
im lovin this song. it sounds like hes ready to commit to his girl but hes scared...know what im saying? the line "im willing to tell you everything i let stand between us..but what if i tell you too much.." that really sounds to me like hes ready to get serious and open up but perhaps hes scared that once she really knows all about him, she wont want him no more?? "i fear sometimes in my mind, that you wont wanna stay with my love"...see wat i mean? sorry if im too deep but music is my passion lol