"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.
Here's the army
That you mowed to the ground
And the bodies you left lying around
Talking it out
The last hour
I'm through trying now
It's a big relief
I'll be staying down
Where no-one else gonna give me grief
Mess me around
Just make it over
Your opinion was the law of the land
A single thing that I couldn't always understand
I lived it out from hour to hour
The only thing that never really changed
You ran me all around
And dragged me down
At the end of the day
Don't keep me around
Just make it over
I've been thinking of the things that I missed
Situations that I passed up for this
One way love I took for ours
I'm through trying now
It's a big relief
I'll be staying down
I wasn't good at being a thief
More like a clown
Make it over
That you mowed to the ground
And the bodies you left lying around
Talking it out
The last hour
I'm through trying now
It's a big relief
I'll be staying down
Where no-one else gonna give me grief
Mess me around
Just make it over
Your opinion was the law of the land
A single thing that I couldn't always understand
I lived it out from hour to hour
The only thing that never really changed
You ran me all around
And dragged me down
At the end of the day
Don't keep me around
Just make it over
I've been thinking of the things that I missed
Situations that I passed up for this
One way love I took for ours
I'm through trying now
It's a big relief
I'll be staying down
I wasn't good at being a thief
More like a clown
Make it over
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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”
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.
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/
I can't stop lkistening to this! This song is poetically brilliant- SImple & so Complex. A swan song perhaps, at peace at last with whatever was haunting him- Rest In Peace Elliott Smith