"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.
The cat calls through the night
And two chicks in the parking lot crack wise
On the price of fame, they stood to gain
The phone book's been ripped off
And two shapes in the dark across the way
Know the price of flight, it's weight and size
If you've got something that sheds some light
Use it tonight, tonight
Heads down, thumbs up
Two sips from the cup of human kindness
And I'm shitfaced, just laid to waste
So wait here, wait up
Stock tips from the credit checks come next
In the logic's line, halt on that dime
If you've got will and a little time
Use it tonight, tonight
You had to send the wrecking crew after me
I can't walk right
You had to send the wrecking crew after me
I can't walk right
Phantom of the heart
Four beats from the party line
Been mine since I was a child
It just grew there wild
So heads down, thumbs up
Four beats from starting line
Get set to exercise your right
Use it tonight
If there's a choice between a chance and flight
Choose it tonight, tonight
You had to send the wrecking crew after me
I can't walk right
You had to send the wrecking crew after me
I can't walk right, I can't walk right
Use it tonight, tonight
Tonight, tonight, night, night
And two chicks in the parking lot crack wise
On the price of fame, they stood to gain
The phone book's been ripped off
And two shapes in the dark across the way
Know the price of flight, it's weight and size
If you've got something that sheds some light
Use it tonight, tonight
Heads down, thumbs up
Two sips from the cup of human kindness
And I'm shitfaced, just laid to waste
So wait here, wait up
Stock tips from the credit checks come next
In the logic's line, halt on that dime
If you've got will and a little time
Use it tonight, tonight
You had to send the wrecking crew after me
I can't walk right
You had to send the wrecking crew after me
I can't walk right
Phantom of the heart
Four beats from the party line
Been mine since I was a child
It just grew there wild
So heads down, thumbs up
Four beats from starting line
Get set to exercise your right
Use it tonight
If there's a choice between a chance and flight
Choose it tonight, tonight
You had to send the wrecking crew after me
I can't walk right
You had to send the wrecking crew after me
I can't walk right, I can't walk right
Use it tonight, tonight
Tonight, tonight, night, night
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
I think Use It sounds a lot like their older stuff...the stuff that doesn't is like "Jackie, Dressed in Cobras" and "The Bleeding Heart Show".
I love this song. It fits right in with any of their older albums.