"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.
Fags should be exterminated like in Hiroshima
That's what it said on the bathroom wall
Fags should be exterminated like in Hiroshima
That's what it said on the bathroom wall
And it seemed a bit extreme
And most unnecessary
‘cause fags by definition
Tend mostly not to procreate
And therefore tend mostly
To exterminate themselves
But you're the one who wrote it, thank you
You're the one who wrote it, thank you
So here is the airplane
Please get on the airplane
All the fags have been gathered below
And here’s the release lever
Please grip your hand around it
And later here's a shovel
To sweep away the ashes
And we’ll need your decision
Just how you plan to handle
The survivors if any
The burned and the screaming
And by the way your brother prefers sex with men to women
Or did they forget to tell you
Fags should be exterminated like in Hiroshima
That's what it said on the bathroom wall
Fags should be exterminated like in Hiroshima
That's what it said on the bathroom wall
And you're the one who wrote it thank you
And you're the one who wrote it thank you
Words have power
Words have meaning
Words become things
And words become actions
So thank you for your words
Mr. Mein Kampf of the bathroom
And here is the airplane
And here’s the release lever
And here is a shovel
To wipe away the ashes
And by the way your brother prefers sucking dick to pussy
Or did they forget to tell you
That's what it said on the bathroom wall
Fags should be exterminated like in Hiroshima
That's what it said on the bathroom wall
And it seemed a bit extreme
And most unnecessary
‘cause fags by definition
Tend mostly not to procreate
And therefore tend mostly
To exterminate themselves
But you're the one who wrote it, thank you
You're the one who wrote it, thank you
So here is the airplane
Please get on the airplane
All the fags have been gathered below
And here’s the release lever
Please grip your hand around it
And later here's a shovel
To sweep away the ashes
And we’ll need your decision
Just how you plan to handle
The survivors if any
The burned and the screaming
And by the way your brother prefers sex with men to women
Or did they forget to tell you
Fags should be exterminated like in Hiroshima
That's what it said on the bathroom wall
Fags should be exterminated like in Hiroshima
That's what it said on the bathroom wall
And you're the one who wrote it thank you
And you're the one who wrote it thank you
Words have power
Words have meaning
Words become things
And words become actions
So thank you for your words
Mr. Mein Kampf of the bathroom
And here is the airplane
And here’s the release lever
And here is a shovel
To wipe away the ashes
And by the way your brother prefers sucking dick to pussy
Or did they forget to tell you
Lyrics submitted by ckad79
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
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.
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.
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.