"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.
It's high now
So low it's high
Like this, check it out yo
Took a trip on a bus that I didn't know
Met a girl sellin' drinks at the disco
Said "truth comes back when you let it go"
Seems complicated 'cause it's really so simple
Walkin' down Yonge Street on a Friday
Can't follow them, gotta do it my way
No fast lane, still on a highway
Movin' in and out, no doubt there's a brighter day
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
Ah, ha, check out the crabs in the bucket
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
Ah, ha, check out the crabs in the bucket
It's like this, it's like this
It's like flies on the windscreen, writing on walls
Square Biz clones claim they're havin' a ball
Foolin' themselves just before last call
Tic-a-tic-a-toc tic-a-tic-a-toc
Clock strikes twelve, clock strikes one
Smoking gun put these fools on the run
I know it's not that simple, I know it's not that hard
Where's your God
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
Ah, ha, check out the crabs in the bucket
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
Ah, ha, check out the crabs in the bucket
Yeah know I mean
Yeah, I heard you man, yo, check, yo, yo
It's a conniption fit when the microphones lit
I take it higher like a bird on a wire, retire the fire
I'll never 'cause I'm just moving on up
Choosin' to touch, the unseen, craving the clutch
The most inevitable, legible pyromania
Slaying the devil, and send him back to Transylvania
Strangely enough, I avoid that side of the ghetto
From my heavy metal, will settle the puppets like Geppetto
Damm, if mirrors where created by sand
Then I'm looking in the water for reflections of man
Understand the minds above time when it's empty
MC, Tragically Hip, ahead by a century (rah)
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
Ah, ha, check out the crabs in the bucket
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
Ah, ha, check out the crabs in the bucket
So low it's high
Like this, check it out yo
Took a trip on a bus that I didn't know
Met a girl sellin' drinks at the disco
Said "truth comes back when you let it go"
Seems complicated 'cause it's really so simple
Walkin' down Yonge Street on a Friday
Can't follow them, gotta do it my way
No fast lane, still on a highway
Movin' in and out, no doubt there's a brighter day
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
Ah, ha, check out the crabs in the bucket
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
Ah, ha, check out the crabs in the bucket
It's like this, it's like this
It's like flies on the windscreen, writing on walls
Square Biz clones claim they're havin' a ball
Foolin' themselves just before last call
Tic-a-tic-a-toc tic-a-tic-a-toc
Clock strikes twelve, clock strikes one
Smoking gun put these fools on the run
I know it's not that simple, I know it's not that hard
Where's your God
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
Ah, ha, check out the crabs in the bucket
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
Ah, ha, check out the crabs in the bucket
Yeah know I mean
Yeah, I heard you man, yo, check, yo, yo
It's a conniption fit when the microphones lit
I take it higher like a bird on a wire, retire the fire
I'll never 'cause I'm just moving on up
Choosin' to touch, the unseen, craving the clutch
The most inevitable, legible pyromania
Slaying the devil, and send him back to Transylvania
Strangely enough, I avoid that side of the ghetto
From my heavy metal, will settle the puppets like Geppetto
Damm, if mirrors where created by sand
Then I'm looking in the water for reflections of man
Understand the minds above time when it's empty
MC, Tragically Hip, ahead by a century (rah)
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
Ah, ha, check out the crabs in the bucket
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
No time to get down 'cause I'm moving up
Ah, ha, check out the crabs in the bucket
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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,
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/
To me, i find this one of the worst and most overrated songs ever. End of story.
Are you kidding? A solid bass groove, 3 very distinct verses, a wicked saxophone solo, words that actually mean something and that feeling it gives you, where you just want to dance. <br /> <br /> But you did a good job of backing up your opinion :S<br /> <br /> Anyway, go to hell or something.