"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.
today has a way
of scarring your eyes
with negative light
but it's a disguise
I put on my shades
and see through the lies
the convenient truth is
light is on the way
we'll be having a fun time
it's such a lovely day
we should pocket the sunshine
and never give it back
even if there's a heat wave
or terrorist attack
it will just be a close shave, I know
I know
that every bomb
has a silver lining, I know
I know
it won't be long until
everything works out nice in the end
the Sun will marry the Moon
it'll be fine
why don't we sit back mellow again
and have a nice afternoon?
it'll be fine
I go for a walk
the sidewalk is cracked
I'm not susperstitious
but I made a pact
with old mother Earth
she'd get off my back
if I get off hers
light is on the way
we'll be having a fun time
it's such a lovely day
we should pocket the sunshine
and never give it back
even if there's a heat wave
we're stalling on the track
it will just be a close shave, I know
I know
that in a snap
all the birds will sing, I know
I know
I'm full of crap, but still
everything works out nice in the end
the Sun will marry the Moon
it'll be fine
why don't we sit back mellow again
and have a nice afternoon?
it'll be fine
fine
fine
fine
everything is gonna be...
everything works out nice in the end
the Sun will marry the Moon
it'll be fine
why don't we sit back mellow again
and have a nice afternoon?
it'll be fine
of scarring your eyes
with negative light
but it's a disguise
I put on my shades
and see through the lies
the convenient truth is
light is on the way
we'll be having a fun time
it's such a lovely day
we should pocket the sunshine
and never give it back
even if there's a heat wave
or terrorist attack
it will just be a close shave, I know
I know
that every bomb
has a silver lining, I know
I know
it won't be long until
everything works out nice in the end
the Sun will marry the Moon
it'll be fine
why don't we sit back mellow again
and have a nice afternoon?
it'll be fine
I go for a walk
the sidewalk is cracked
I'm not susperstitious
but I made a pact
with old mother Earth
she'd get off my back
if I get off hers
light is on the way
we'll be having a fun time
it's such a lovely day
we should pocket the sunshine
and never give it back
even if there's a heat wave
we're stalling on the track
it will just be a close shave, I know
I know
that in a snap
all the birds will sing, I know
I know
I'm full of crap, but still
everything works out nice in the end
the Sun will marry the Moon
it'll be fine
why don't we sit back mellow again
and have a nice afternoon?
it'll be fine
fine
fine
fine
everything is gonna be...
everything works out nice in the end
the Sun will marry the Moon
it'll be fine
why don't we sit back mellow again
and have a nice afternoon?
it'll be fine
Lyrics submitted by Homepie
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Fast Car
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Plastic Bag
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“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.
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It's got a great chorus.