"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.
Waterfall, a midnight monsoon in a moonlit tropical station
A million eyes in the African night, calling us in, now don't you be afraid
Blue whales navigate the Atlantic, nuclear submarines control the space
Life spent, a precious moment, in the wink of an eye we live and we die
Dream it up, dream it up!
Thinking of a world, a state of perfection
Over and over again, masterplan unfold for each generation
One touch from the master's hand, one simple chord for the future
One touch from the master's hand, one simple chord for all of the future!
Monitored by the eye in the sky, while we map it out by the fireplaces
New line of technology hits us, celebrate the long lost sensation
Multiplying the images as top of the line of all of creation
Eagerly we took it apart just to find a glimpse of divine insanity
It shines even brighter, for each single day we're climbing the ladder
It shines even brighter, with a love supreme, all the work of the master's hand
See life reinventing itself, starting over, time and time again
A new time of understanding begins, see yourself as a link in the chain reaction
This world couldn't do without you, this world couldn't be without you
It's perfect because you are, it's perfect because you are
Coming up, growing up, looking for a bigger understanding
Coming up, growing up, speaking of respect for all the planet
Coming up, building up, new religion sees the light of day
Coming up, building up, changes ahead but don't you be afraid
Every street I've walked down, everyone I've talked to
I'm afraid I love them all but for different reasons
Every grand old building from a time of visions
Every single song, every syncopation
It must be something that makes me feel right at home
Every act of mercy, every word of kindness
Every time I find out how love is blind
Every time a smile breaks out from a grumpy face
I remember there is hope and it all amazes me
It must be something that makes me feel right at home
And all my wanting is down to understanding
My eyes are deep and distant like the blue Atlantic
I'm off the riptide just when the stormy skies roll in
I'm just a shimmer in the wind
Every time we give, but not for selfish reasons
Every time a flower bursts to bloom in the desert
Every time a politician is telling the truth
Every time I see an end to a lifelong blues
It must be something that makes me feel right at home
And all my wanting is down to understanding
My eyes are deep and distant like the blue Atlantic
I'm off the riptide just when the stormy skies roll in
I'm just a shimmer in the rain
And all my lifelong is focused to be justified
Before the train will take me way beyond those dreamy skies
A burning questionmark along the corridors of time
I'm finding out just who I am
A million eyes in the African night, calling us in, now don't you be afraid
Blue whales navigate the Atlantic, nuclear submarines control the space
Life spent, a precious moment, in the wink of an eye we live and we die
Dream it up, dream it up!
Thinking of a world, a state of perfection
Over and over again, masterplan unfold for each generation
One touch from the master's hand, one simple chord for the future
One touch from the master's hand, one simple chord for all of the future!
Monitored by the eye in the sky, while we map it out by the fireplaces
New line of technology hits us, celebrate the long lost sensation
Multiplying the images as top of the line of all of creation
Eagerly we took it apart just to find a glimpse of divine insanity
It shines even brighter, for each single day we're climbing the ladder
It shines even brighter, with a love supreme, all the work of the master's hand
See life reinventing itself, starting over, time and time again
A new time of understanding begins, see yourself as a link in the chain reaction
This world couldn't do without you, this world couldn't be without you
It's perfect because you are, it's perfect because you are
Coming up, growing up, looking for a bigger understanding
Coming up, growing up, speaking of respect for all the planet
Coming up, building up, new religion sees the light of day
Coming up, building up, changes ahead but don't you be afraid
Every street I've walked down, everyone I've talked to
I'm afraid I love them all but for different reasons
Every grand old building from a time of visions
Every single song, every syncopation
It must be something that makes me feel right at home
Every act of mercy, every word of kindness
Every time I find out how love is blind
Every time a smile breaks out from a grumpy face
I remember there is hope and it all amazes me
It must be something that makes me feel right at home
And all my wanting is down to understanding
My eyes are deep and distant like the blue Atlantic
I'm off the riptide just when the stormy skies roll in
I'm just a shimmer in the wind
Every time we give, but not for selfish reasons
Every time a flower bursts to bloom in the desert
Every time a politician is telling the truth
Every time I see an end to a lifelong blues
It must be something that makes me feel right at home
And all my wanting is down to understanding
My eyes are deep and distant like the blue Atlantic
I'm off the riptide just when the stormy skies roll in
I'm just a shimmer in the rain
And all my lifelong is focused to be justified
Before the train will take me way beyond those dreamy skies
A burning questionmark along the corridors of time
I'm finding out just who I am
Lyrics submitted by Metropolis
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
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
One of the greatest pieces of music ever created.
Where are all of the flower king fans?