"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.
This time
It was our summer
It was something
No one could take from us
Sometimes that night seems so close
Like I could hold it
You said alright we'll be fine
But how could we have known
Do you remember
Roll down the window and let in night air
I always thought we'd be together
You said,
You said that we'd never gone this way before
I must not let you die
Your memory survives
I Hope that tonight things are fine
As I lay awake
The light cuts the southern sky
And that glass stings my lungs
These scars they will
They will always remind me of you and how your always with me
Your with me
Your with me
You are with me, always with me
Nothing, Won't you stay
and
be
with
me
Tonight, tonight
Don't you know I tried to find those pictures with no light
I lost them as I lost you
I lost them as I lost you
Waiting, waiting to see and be with you again
With you again
Wishing the best for you my lost firends, my lost friends
To hear you laugh one last time
I hope you know I tried to find those pictures Jordo,
Of us
That night in Detroit with The Preshure Point
And I,
I feel the need to fly and hide inside
And I,
I feel the need to hide inside your loving arms
Man I swear I'd give the whole thing up for you
It was our summer
It was something
No one could take from us
Sometimes that night seems so close
Like I could hold it
You said alright we'll be fine
But how could we have known
Do you remember
Roll down the window and let in night air
I always thought we'd be together
You said,
You said that we'd never gone this way before
I must not let you die
Your memory survives
I Hope that tonight things are fine
As I lay awake
The light cuts the southern sky
And that glass stings my lungs
These scars they will
They will always remind me of you and how your always with me
Your with me
Your with me
You are with me, always with me
Nothing, Won't you stay
and
be
with
me
Tonight, tonight
Don't you know I tried to find those pictures with no light
I lost them as I lost you
I lost them as I lost you
Waiting, waiting to see and be with you again
With you again
Wishing the best for you my lost firends, my lost friends
To hear you laugh one last time
I hope you know I tried to find those pictures Jordo,
Of us
That night in Detroit with The Preshure Point
And I,
I feel the need to fly and hide inside
And I,
I feel the need to hide inside your loving arms
Man I swear I'd give the whole thing up for you
Lyrics submitted by Adam!!
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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.
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,
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Amazing stuff. These guys are just great.