"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.
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get up, get up, get up
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
(Get up and get something)
It's all about money ain't nobody frontin'
I gotta go get it we gotta survive
Whether it's workin' a nine-to-five
Or ridin' the hustle I gotta get mine, bottom line
Most of my time I'm out here puttin' in work
For all of my days that I run this earth
I'ma make it count for what it's worth
You never know about this life and the type of pain that it can bring
That's why you gotta get off of you're thing 'cause it ain't no dream and it ain't no game
We so serious, dogg you know it don't stop
I know time is the devil's workshop
See I do it I did it
And why y'all know that I'm wit it
I'll give anything for passin' and take to it back
A hustlin' little brother with crack
But now I grind a little bit harder
Harder my niggaz stories in order
See, it was hard for me momma
My mother dropped in the water
My sister was damn fast, Heather was right behind ya
Cassie, that's my little sister
My father loved you like the only child
Funny, he ain't never seen my smile
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get up, get up, get up
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You better get on yo grind
You better go get it if you really tryin' to shine
You better be keepin' yo eyes on your prize at all times
Keepin' it real for my all of my thugs in the projects
The niggas that ain't got shit
Not havin' this nonsense my niggas
My momma said, boy if you ever want to be anything
Get off the couch and out my house, use your brain
So I took heed and I jumped right up on my feet
Got off the streets and I'll be
In heat I'm laughing at police now
Coming to you like this
This used to be child
Is now a grown man
Don't play with the wrong hand
But I never could quit 'cause I'm playin' a strong man
Everybody got a point to prove you might as well start today
Rather than puttin' it off tomorrow
You're lettin' it slip away
Lil' Lay, I parle
And get paid, and that's all
And I creep and I rise
In yo eyes I still ball
And stand tall with my chest
And my cheek to the sky
I'm in it to win it my nigga believe it until the day that I die
So come on
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get up, get up, get up
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
Anything you want, anything you need
You gotta get it, yeah and go get it
Ain't comin' to you, you gotta put in your dues
Show the world that you can do it
Don't let nobody hold you back
So you better get your hustle on
Baby better get your hustle on
You better
We some of the livest, you know
True thugs don't really mind to riot, let it go
They sayin' get up and get it
Yes we went and did it
You won't admit it
'cause you hatin' 'cause you can't get it
Every since I was a young thug
Been creepin' showin' mo' love
Even when I got it you best to give it up
It's Cleveland, until we get what we want we ain't leaving
This is what we want with no chumps, please believe it
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get up, get up, get up
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get up, get up, get up
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
3-L-Dub get they hustle on
Gotta get the cheese in the lab
A collabo with Bone
Begging on my knee
Gettin' money till we flooded with ice
Nigga it's freeze
3-L-Dub is goin' coast to coast
We family
3-L-Dub get they hustle on
Gotta get the cheese in the lab
A collabo with Bone
Begging on my knee
Gettin' money till we flooded with ice
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get up, get up, get up
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
(Get up and get something)
It's all about money ain't nobody frontin'
I gotta go get it we gotta survive
Whether it's workin' a nine-to-five
Or ridin' the hustle I gotta get mine, bottom line
Most of my time I'm out here puttin' in work
For all of my days that I run this earth
I'ma make it count for what it's worth
You never know about this life and the type of pain that it can bring
That's why you gotta get off of you're thing 'cause it ain't no dream and it ain't no game
We so serious, dogg you know it don't stop
I know time is the devil's workshop
See I do it I did it
And why y'all know that I'm wit it
I'll give anything for passin' and take to it back
A hustlin' little brother with crack
But now I grind a little bit harder
Harder my niggaz stories in order
See, it was hard for me momma
My mother dropped in the water
My sister was damn fast, Heather was right behind ya
Cassie, that's my little sister
My father loved you like the only child
Funny, he ain't never seen my smile
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get up, get up, get up
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You better get on yo grind
You better go get it if you really tryin' to shine
You better be keepin' yo eyes on your prize at all times
Keepin' it real for my all of my thugs in the projects
The niggas that ain't got shit
Not havin' this nonsense my niggas
My momma said, boy if you ever want to be anything
Get off the couch and out my house, use your brain
So I took heed and I jumped right up on my feet
Got off the streets and I'll be
In heat I'm laughing at police now
Coming to you like this
This used to be child
Is now a grown man
Don't play with the wrong hand
But I never could quit 'cause I'm playin' a strong man
Everybody got a point to prove you might as well start today
Rather than puttin' it off tomorrow
You're lettin' it slip away
Lil' Lay, I parle
And get paid, and that's all
And I creep and I rise
In yo eyes I still ball
And stand tall with my chest
And my cheek to the sky
I'm in it to win it my nigga believe it until the day that I die
So come on
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get up, get up, get up
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
Anything you want, anything you need
You gotta get it, yeah and go get it
Ain't comin' to you, you gotta put in your dues
Show the world that you can do it
Don't let nobody hold you back
So you better get your hustle on
Baby better get your hustle on
You better
We some of the livest, you know
True thugs don't really mind to riot, let it go
They sayin' get up and get it
Yes we went and did it
You won't admit it
'cause you hatin' 'cause you can't get it
Every since I was a young thug
Been creepin' showin' mo' love
Even when I got it you best to give it up
It's Cleveland, until we get what we want we ain't leaving
This is what we want with no chumps, please believe it
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get up, get up, get up
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get out and get something
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
You gotta get up, get up, get up, get up
(Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up and get it)
3-L-Dub get they hustle on
Gotta get the cheese in the lab
A collabo with Bone
Begging on my knee
Gettin' money till we flooded with ice
Nigga it's freeze
3-L-Dub is goin' coast to coast
We family
3-L-Dub get they hustle on
Gotta get the cheese in the lab
A collabo with Bone
Begging on my knee
Gettin' money till we flooded with ice
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
You gotta get up, get out and get something!