"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.
Behold the fishnet slut tonight
Hustle Rose goes from limb to limb
Fingertip to painted lip she sways her way up to him
Says, â??Now that your wallet is all lit up
Now that your wallet is all lit up [Repeats]
You're gonna want to wear it outâ??
If you're looking for something life-like
Hit a sardine nightclub
If every surface you touch is cold
Never go home
He says, â??I can't feel a thing, my dreams are so tight
Why wouldn't I stand in line tonight?â??
Now that your wallet is all lit up
You're gonna want to wear it out
You're gonna want to wear it out
You could throw me a bone
If I get too close you wake me up
remind me softly to go
If I forget won't you wake me up
Remind me not to feel a thing
Keep the dream tight
I can't feel a thing
My dreams are so tight
Why wouldn't I stand in line tonight?
Hustle Rose goes from limb to limb
Fingertip to painted lip she sways her way up to him
Says, â??Now that your wallet is all lit up
Now that your wallet is all lit up [Repeats]
You're gonna want to wear it outâ??
If you're looking for something life-like
Hit a sardine nightclub
If every surface you touch is cold
Never go home
He says, â??I can't feel a thing, my dreams are so tight
Why wouldn't I stand in line tonight?â??
Now that your wallet is all lit up
You're gonna want to wear it out
You're gonna want to wear it out
You could throw me a bone
If I get too close you wake me up
remind me softly to go
If I forget won't you wake me up
Remind me not to feel a thing
Keep the dream tight
I can't feel a thing
My dreams are so tight
Why wouldn't I stand in line tonight?
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
wow. this song is epic in proportion. its structured so perfectly and executed so passionately... its one of my all-time favourite songs. anyways, i see a lot going on here... i see the character of Hustle Rose representing pretty much every girl who finds themselves always getting done up and going out on weekends to clubs and bars and just casually hooking up with people in those scenes. all of a sudden it hits her that she once wanted more, she once had bigger dreams, but now she's realizing what she's become, and how sad it is, and its bringing her down. all her dreams that got too tight, all the sex she substitutes for love and feeling, all the same old crap and she can't feel a thing anymore. and as she's bringing all that out on another night out, she's realizing that she doesn't want to keep doing that anymore. its like the whole song is her trying to answer the question "why wouldn't i stand in line tonight?" almost like a clever societal jab... or something...
yes this is the best song on the cd, in my opinion and about 2000x better live.....seriously...
This is a beautiful song. I'd like to point out that it is the man who is asking "why wouldnt i stand in line tonight?" I think the song is about a man who feels like his dreams are lost and who can no longer feel the things around him so he is asking why wouldn't he just go to a prostitute and give in to this emotionless lifestyle. The line "why wouldnt i stand in line tonight?" is a reference to the line of Johns waiting for the hooker. If he's one man in a line he is nothing special it is emotionless. Finally he says that if he starts to feel anything he is woken up by her either metaphorically or literally and told to leave also either metaphorically or literally.
for a prostitute song, i never thought i would like it.. but i do. It seems like the girl is falling in love with the guy she's been "doing" (hahaha oh gosh) and she's trying to not feel anything for him.
"If I get too close you wake me up remind me softly to go If I forget won’t you wake me up Remind me not to feel a thing"
seee..
this song IS indeed pretty awesome live. as is metric!! also i agree with hannahbear ^ ..
"my dreams are so tight "
What exactly does "Now that your wallet is all lit up, You're gonna want to wear it out" mean...? Sorry, I'm not very hip. Does it just mean...now that you have all the cash money, you want to spend it? sorry for being dumb!
I think Alley is right, this song is from the man's point of view. I thought it was the prostitute the first time I heard it, but if you just read it you'll see.
This song was the one track on the CD I would skip over, because I thought the beginning was kind of annoying, but after I listened to the whole thing and read the lyrics it's one of my favourite songs on the album.
Clever how they gave it that club scene feel.
I wanna be Hustle Rose. I feel like her sometimes!
I agree with hitchhiker about the whole skipping the song at first thing.Then when I listened all the way through I just thought it was incredible!