"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.
Been tryin' so hard just to talk to you
Haven't heard half of what you want me to
Hurt so bad over where we've been
Don't know how not to go back there again
I know what I want to say
How can I get it through to you now in some other way
Like
There was this woman
And there was this man
There was this moment they had a chance to hold on to what they had
How could they be so in love and still never see
That nothing could be sadder than this woman, this woman and this man
A stranger's eyes and a lover's face
Still no signs of a better time and place
Have we lost the key to an open door?
I feel the need to reach out to you even more
It's a circle we're going 'round
How can I get us out from under? It's gonna take us down
See
There was this woman
And there was this man
There was this moment they had a chance to hold on to what they had
How could they be so in love and still never see
That we can get it back again
This woman, this woman and this man
For all we got to lose
It's so much a gain
That we could come this far and leave it behind
There's only you and me to blame
There was this woman
And there was this man
There was this moment they had a chance to hold on to what they had
How could they be so in love and still never see
That nothing could be sadder than this woman, this woman and this man
How could they be so in love
And still never see
That we can get it back again
This woman, this woman and this man
Haven't heard half of what you want me to
Hurt so bad over where we've been
Don't know how not to go back there again
I know what I want to say
How can I get it through to you now in some other way
Like
There was this woman
And there was this man
There was this moment they had a chance to hold on to what they had
How could they be so in love and still never see
That nothing could be sadder than this woman, this woman and this man
A stranger's eyes and a lover's face
Still no signs of a better time and place
Have we lost the key to an open door?
I feel the need to reach out to you even more
It's a circle we're going 'round
How can I get us out from under? It's gonna take us down
See
There was this woman
And there was this man
There was this moment they had a chance to hold on to what they had
How could they be so in love and still never see
That we can get it back again
This woman, this woman and this man
For all we got to lose
It's so much a gain
That we could come this far and leave it behind
There's only you and me to blame
There was this woman
And there was this man
There was this moment they had a chance to hold on to what they had
How could they be so in love and still never see
That nothing could be sadder than this woman, this woman and this man
How could they be so in love
And still never see
That we can get it back again
This woman, this woman and this man
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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
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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.
this is a real beautiful song but in reality you can get love back if the feeling is mutual but it will never be the same love grows and changes with the relationship sometimes it ends and that can be a good thing