"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.
Who draws the crowd and plays so loud
Baby it's the guitar man
Who's gonna steal the show
You know, baby, it's the guitar man
He can make you love
He can make you cry
He will bring you down
Then he'll get you high
Somethin' keeps him goin'
Miles and miles a day
To find another place to play
Night after night who treats you right
Baby, it's the guitar man
Who's on the radio
You go listen to the guitar man
Then he comes to town
And you see his face
And you think you might
Like to take his place
Somethin' keeps him driftin'
Miles and miles away
Searchin' for the songs to play
Then you listen to the music
And you like to sing along
You want to get the meaning
Out of each and every song
Then you find yourself a message
And some words to call your own
And take them home
He can make you love
He can get you high
He will bring you down
Then he'll make you cry
Somethin' keeps him movin'
But no one seems to know
What it is that makes him go
Then the lights begin to flicker
And the sound is getting dim
The voice begins to falter
And the crowds are getting thin
But he never seems to notice
He's just got to find
Another place to play
Fade away
Got to play
Fade away
Got to play
Baby it's the guitar man
Who's gonna steal the show
You know, baby, it's the guitar man
He can make you love
He can make you cry
He will bring you down
Then he'll get you high
Somethin' keeps him goin'
Miles and miles a day
To find another place to play
Night after night who treats you right
Baby, it's the guitar man
Who's on the radio
You go listen to the guitar man
Then he comes to town
And you see his face
And you think you might
Like to take his place
Somethin' keeps him driftin'
Miles and miles away
Searchin' for the songs to play
Then you listen to the music
And you like to sing along
You want to get the meaning
Out of each and every song
Then you find yourself a message
And some words to call your own
And take them home
He can make you love
He can get you high
He will bring you down
Then he'll make you cry
Somethin' keeps him movin'
But no one seems to know
What it is that makes him go
Then the lights begin to flicker
And the sound is getting dim
The voice begins to falter
And the crowds are getting thin
But he never seems to notice
He's just got to find
Another place to play
Fade away
Got to play
Fade away
Got to play
Lyrics submitted by AliesterCrowleyFan
Guitar Man Lyrics as written by David Gates
Lyrics © DAVID GATES D/B/A KIPAHULU MUSIC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Beautiful. I'm surprised no has commented on it yet...
i love the bit when he talks about knowing what every line means in the songs. i love cake covers (check out i will surive it's really funny at first then it gets really good). does anyone who did the original of this?
@Sweetheart210 lol this is the original
@Sweetheart210
Eh?
is it just me, or does the chorus of 'The Real Thing' by Bo Bice sound similiar to 'The Guitar Man's'? anyway. brilliant song.
Probably because that faggot stole the guitar chords for his own shitty advantage. I hate bands that do that shit especially when they suck to begin with. Makes me want to strangle a bitch! btw beautiful song by the legendary david gates/Bread!
this song makes me think of my dad. He loved Bread and we listened to it togetrher often. He would play the rythem gutair part from this song along with the album, lol. He was always playing and now I can listen to this song and smile just thinking about him...
I just surprisingly listened again this song today, after several years since I was a little child when I listened to this beautiful song. To my amazement, this song still really is a very beautiful song, and personally, it means a lot to me!
this song, to me, is clearly about the passion of a musician/singer/songwriter (here in this song termed as "Guitar Man"). a musician will have his/her own reasons to travel miles & miles away, to play the songs, just to be able to share something so abstract, yet so beautiful & eternal, which is the message, the meaning, and the emotions of the music. true/real musicians often have different motivations than most regular practical people in this world. and this song has clearly depicted it very beautifully. this is easily become onf of my favorite song, even in this so-called 'digital era' of 'noisy' music, this song still and i think will always stand out on it sown, at least to me personally, as a singer/songwriter myself.
This song is about a man that lives on women's couches, stealing their medications and robbing them blind.
Sounds to me like a song about a srs c*t Player Man-whor Ew