"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.
The woman that I love
Is forty feet tall
She's a movie star
She's all in the papers
And everywhere i go
People hand me quarters
And they pat me on the back
They treat me like I'm famous
I'll never leave her side
'Cause today can be dangerous
And when the night arrives
The light hit her features
And the cars drive by
Just so they could see her
And she never bats an eye
When someone takes her picture
Mr.Officer if you've come to take her
Then that means one of us
Gonna end up in a stretcher
Gonna end up in the papers, going end up in the papers, yeah
If i had a pistol
I'd brandish it and wave it
She's the only one alive that knows that I'm not crazy
She's gonna testify on my behalf
Down at the Navy
So I can get some peace
And provide for my babies
I got a stick and a bottle
I'll pretend I got a razor
Helicopters and cameras all shottin' for the station
They say that a wild man defending his lady
But for some odd reason they keep calling you a painting
Is forty feet tall
She's a movie star
She's all in the papers
And everywhere i go
People hand me quarters
And they pat me on the back
They treat me like I'm famous
I'll never leave her side
'Cause today can be dangerous
And when the night arrives
The light hit her features
And the cars drive by
Just so they could see her
And she never bats an eye
When someone takes her picture
Mr.Officer if you've come to take her
Then that means one of us
Gonna end up in a stretcher
Gonna end up in the papers, going end up in the papers, yeah
If i had a pistol
I'd brandish it and wave it
She's the only one alive that knows that I'm not crazy
She's gonna testify on my behalf
Down at the Navy
So I can get some peace
And provide for my babies
I got a stick and a bottle
I'll pretend I got a razor
Helicopters and cameras all shottin' for the station
They say that a wild man defending his lady
But for some odd reason they keep calling you a painting
Lyrics submitted by pnkseashel
Pablo Picasso Lyrics as written by Clarence Greenwood
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
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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.
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/
I believe that this song is about a crazy homeless man who has fallen in love with a billboard of some celebrity. When the company wants to change the billboard to another theme, he protestes and this makes him famous with local people, but the company calls the police to take down the billboard and that's where the song takes place.
Feels to me like CC is talking about liberty and freedom.
Seems like the first verse could be going in and out of a literal interpretation of the Statue of Liberty. The fight for freedom and democracy (as portrayed by the media) is always in the papers. When the statue of liberty is lit, her features are very defined. go overseas or to 3rd world countries that are suppressed, they get treated as celebrities (so I've heard). She never bats an eye, because she's a statue...
Mr. officer, don't try to take my freedom away, or one of us is going to be laid out.
The second verse is referring more to the cost of freedom, and having to fight for it constantly. Also, some people that try to rise up against the establishments tend to get chastised and branded as lunatics. So as he would be seen as crazy from a distance, his love for freedom is true and though they may try to mislabel the place of freedom and peace being a painting or fictional place, he knows in his heart it is a very real existence.
Maybe I'm crazy, but that's what I heard.
First post I've ever made here... really diggin this site :)
Totally Agree with byrdinflight. This song gives me chills thinking about all the suffering people go through because...<br /> <br /> supposedly we are free?<br /> A true burden put on you and me. <br /> Time to break through this canopy<br /> Share your views, unlike the embassy.<br /> This freedom of choice has got the best of me.
Thats exactly what I thought! good interpretation!
agree - i wrote a comment myself, and then went back and saw yours - we're basically talking about the same thing...<br /> <br /> gotta love citizen cope!
This sounds good to me! great song!!!!
I agree with your description. I would just like to add. The verse:<br /> <br /> And everywhere i go<br /> People hand me quarters<br /> And they pat me on the back<br /> They treat me like I'm famous<br /> I'll never leave her side<br /> 'Cause today can be dangerous<br /> <br /> This could mean that, because he does not go with the main stream and in his music his message is about liberty. People like it, commend him on it, but he doesn't make much money. But he will always bring that message because things need to change.
I agree with your description. I would just like to add. The verse:<br /> <br /> And everywhere i go<br /> People hand me quarters<br /> And they pat me on the back<br /> They treat me like I'm famous<br /> I'll never leave her side<br /> 'Cause today can be dangerous<br /> <br /> This could mean that, because he does not go with the main stream and in his music his message is about liberty. People like it, commend him on it, but he doesn't make much money. But he will always bring that message because things need to change.
@byrdinflight I was smoking weed on a rooftop with a friend yesterday, whilst listening to this song. I have listende to it occasionally for about 4 years, but yesterday I finally felt like understanding the true meaning of the song, and I totally agree with your interpretation. Its crazy that someone else has had the exact same thougts about this.
@byrdinflight I was smoking weed on a rooftop with a friend yesterday, whilst listening to this song. I have listende to it occasionally for about 4 years, but yesterday I finally felt like understanding the true meaning of the song, and I totally agree with your interpretation. Its crazy that someone else has had the exact same thougts about this.
What if it's all about the Statue of Liberty? Hold on... what is she a symbol of? LIBERTY?!
The woman that I love Is forty feet tall She's a movie star She's all in the papers
Sounds like the Statue...
And everywhere i go People hand me quarters And they pat me on the back They treat me like im famous
He is homeless, gets change, people pity him.
I'll never leave her side 'Cause today can be dangerous
He is homeless, therefore - he is a free man. Compared to our freedom -- he is the one who is really free of all the responsibilities of today's world.
And when the night arrives The light hit her features And the cars drive by Just so they could see her And she never bats an eye When someone takes her picture
Again, sounds like the Statue. He goes back and forth between talking about the statue itself, and what she actually symbolizes.
Mr.Officer if you've come to take her Then that means one of us Gonna end up in a stretcher Gonna end up in the papers, going end up in the papers, yeah
He wont let anyone take away his freedom. He was prolly loitering somewhere for too long (like homeless people tend to do) and some idiot called the cops.
If i had a pistol I'd brandish it and wave it She's the only one alive that knows that I'm not crazy
Right to bear arms? Freedom? She, Liberty, is the only one who understands him - the free man.
She's gonna testify on my behalf Down at the Navy So I can get some peace And provide for my babies
Navy - armed forces of the US - fighting for freedom. She is his secret weapon. All he wants is to provide for his family and he has the right - the liberty to do so. And she, Liberty, she's got his back on that one.
I got a stick and a bottle I'll pretend I got a razor Helicopters and cameras all shottin' for the station They say that a wild man defending his lady
He will do anything and everything in his power to protect his freedom. The feeling is so strong that even though he might seem like nobody with nothing is his posession (stick in a bottle) -- he will make it seem like he has that f&%$#n razor if anyone gets close to taking away his freedom.
But for some odd reason they keep calling you a painting
painting - something still, not real, an 'illusion' --as most people might say. he knows that his painting - his freedom - is real. and he wont let anyone take it away.
I hope you got my point... Thank you.
oh, and by the way: picasso did design sculptures.
Nicely argued. I am still not seeing the significance of the statue though?
I just put up a post then scrolled up and saw that great minds do think alike haha I basicaly had the same interpretation my post is down 2 if you would like to read it. It is hard to imagine that most people haven't come across this idea. i felt it was obvious... most people try to inertprit songs by relating them to things in their own life. Again great post and I agree completely...
this song is indeed about a homeless man who falls in love with a billboard of a movie star. In his mind the pats on the back and quarters given to him are because he is famous not destitute. He is protecting the billboard from coming down and has caused a ruckus involving the police and the whole thing is being filmed by the news copters. It is from his perspective and what he is feeling about his love. Great fee to the song.
I actually feel the song is about environmentalist terrorism... I know that sounds like a stretch, but picasso was never a sculptor and no statue has ever been forty feet high, other than the statue of liberty. He's from brooklyn and there's been a history of destroying trees there. But specifically when he says that she's all in the papers, it really feels like he's talking about a tree. But hey he could be talking about a billboard but those get taken down all the time so that doesn't seem significant enough... So yeah, trees, environmetalism. you get the point.
Come on man, Picasso DID design sculptures. i visited one in Chicago last year, one of his most famous, and it is 50 feet tall. Hundreds, probably thousands of people walk past this every day. And, supposedly, this sculpture was inspired by a woman who Picasso found beautiful enough to produce 40 different works based on her.<br /> <br /> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Picasso<br />
This just kinda came to me, but i think this is about a street painter how paints a forty foot woman on a wall. The newspapers publish stories on him and people give him quarters and pat him on the back because they are impressed. It becomes a kind of attraction, which is why people take pictures and drive up at night to see it. Eventually the police come to take it down because it is on city property and is technically graffiti. He puts up a fight and gets further news coverage.
I dunno to me this makes the most sense, after all nobody goes to see billboards or takes pictures of them...
Clarence Greenwood is describing the statue of liberty in this song. The woman that I love<br /> <br /> Is forty feet tall<br /> She's a movie star<br /> She's all in the papers<br /> And everywhere i go<br /> People hand me quarters<br /> And they pat me on the back<br /> They treat me like im famous<br /> I'll never leave her side<br /> 'Cause today can be dangerous<br /> And when the night arrives<br /> The light hit her features<br /> And the cars drive by<br /> Just so they could see her<br /> And she never bats an eye<br /> When someone takes her picture<br /> she never bats her eyes.<br /> <br /> the liberty statue is 40 feet tall. at night her torch accents her features with its light. people take pictures and she will never blink,she has been in multiple movies, she is stationed off shore by a main highway where cars constantly drive by to see her. But he is using her as a metaphor for his love of LIBERTY. no matter what no one can take his liberty and stating that he will fight until he no longer can, as he says with his use of "one of us will end up in a stretcher"
Pablo Picasso as we all know was an abstract artist. This song is about a homeless vet with is dealing with PTSD and schizophrenia. He believes that the sign is a feel real person. The company comes in to change the sign and the homeless Vet gets mad and causes a scene. Cope has actually talk about this song and I wanna say that's what happen. Because I'm the mind of a schizophrenic person thoughts and reality can be more abstract (Hence Pablo Picasso). Bad Ass song!!!
...this song is amazing- especially the way it just goes in, out, then into My Way Home...its just funky as hell. It seems like one of those very strange songs that probably means something different to everyone... Pablo Picasso was one of the innovators of surrealism and was known for his creations of fantasy...to me the song is like a metaphor for someone who becomes one with and falls in love with their work and will stop at nothing to protect it... or the feeling of his work losing integrity as the artist gains fame. Cope seems to be dealing with these same themes throughout this album. Or maybe there isn't a more serious meaning underneath and its just a kick-ass song w/ strange lyrics....
I love this interpretation. Though, in love with a billboard was my first thought, I think I prefer this one based on the title, that the man might actually be famous but poor enough to beg, have a family...
I kinda agree with shivashan, it does seem as if his love isn't human but some kind of artwork maybe, for some reason it seems like maybe a statue. That's just what I get out of it. No matter what the truth is behind this song, it is still amazing and one of my favorites of this album.
I agree that this story was written from a homeless and crazy man's viewpoint. I think his lady is Lady Justice. She shares the seal of NY with Liberty, who is taller than 40'.