"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.
He erased the phase, you're halfway through.
Stacked up debts, cash for regrets
And the good times you had, well they just weren't yours
We saw who dropped you off a block from the store
His drilling will stick, now we can predict
The excuses you'll make, and whose words they'll all take
Up against the odds
Tight around the jaws
Say goodbye to the team, said the separator
(I'm not sure on this line)
You'll learn to sell out what you bought into
You'll come to second-guess the smile she just gave you
I'm here to tell you, you're playing with dolls
And making explosion sounds, everyone heard
I can't see how we're worth getting over
Overall, we will be lower
Thank the separator
The best parts are in coming later
Overall, we will be lower
Stacked up debts, cash for regrets
And the good times you had, well they just weren't yours
We saw who dropped you off a block from the store
His drilling will stick, now we can predict
The excuses you'll make, and whose words they'll all take
Up against the odds
Tight around the jaws
Say goodbye to the team, said the separator
(I'm not sure on this line)
You'll learn to sell out what you bought into
You'll come to second-guess the smile she just gave you
I'm here to tell you, you're playing with dolls
And making explosion sounds, everyone heard
I can't see how we're worth getting over
Overall, we will be lower
Thank the separator
The best parts are in coming later
Overall, we will be lower
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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”
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
I dig how they added the delicate bell part onto some pretty brutal guitar and drums.
First and second poster. Both W00t and WTF? This must be what a hurricane would sound like if set to music.
I think that "I'm here to tell you that you're playing with dolls and making explosion sounds, everyone heard." is one of my favorite lines of any song, ever.
I think it's about a guy who is questioning his sexual orientation. The lines "his drilling will stick" sounds like a gay encounter and the line "you'll come to second guess the smile she gave you" makes me think of possibly losing interest in girls. It could also be about homophobia, particularly the lines "I'm here to tell you that you're playing with dolls and making explosion sounds, everyone heard" (little girls frequently play with dolls and little boys tend to make explosion sounds when playing with toys). The line "tight around the jaw" could refer to the sexual repression homosexuals feel. It could also be about questioning your sexuality and homophobia, possibly the fear of homophobia when considering you might be gay.