"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.
All hail the newborn sin
Reject the boundaries and soak the cancer in
Hope kills the filth you crave
So bleed the truth out and fall into that grave
Uphold the brand new sin
Accept the failure and refuse to rise above
Break through the ribcage
And tear the heart out from everyone you love
Over and over again
We'll bury the shame underneath the lies we breathe
Over and over again
We'll carry the blame for the hell we can't leave
Show me
The path that leads into your mind
Release
The thoughts you locked deep inside
Show me
I'm the one who knew this pain
Release
Before you fall into this again
Behold the loyal slave
His rotting shell now a tomb where death can play
See how his pride caves in
Alone he fights to stop this dark decay
Feed, feed the lust you need
And fainter grows each plea from the skies above
Break through the ribcage
And tear the heart out from everyone you love
Over and over again
We'll bury the shame underneath the lies we breathe
Over and over again
We'll carry the blame for the hell we can't leave
Show me
The path that leads into your mind
Release
The thoughts you locked deep inside
Show me
I'm the one who knew this pain
Release
Before you fall into this again
Building a life out of all that you hate
We see through the front you tried to create
The world you hoped for was only a fake
And just like the maggots you made this way
I know
Reject the boundaries and soak the cancer in
Hope kills the filth you crave
So bleed the truth out and fall into that grave
Uphold the brand new sin
Accept the failure and refuse to rise above
Break through the ribcage
And tear the heart out from everyone you love
Over and over again
We'll bury the shame underneath the lies we breathe
Over and over again
We'll carry the blame for the hell we can't leave
Show me
The path that leads into your mind
Release
The thoughts you locked deep inside
Show me
I'm the one who knew this pain
Release
Before you fall into this again
Behold the loyal slave
His rotting shell now a tomb where death can play
See how his pride caves in
Alone he fights to stop this dark decay
Feed, feed the lust you need
And fainter grows each plea from the skies above
Break through the ribcage
And tear the heart out from everyone you love
Over and over again
We'll bury the shame underneath the lies we breathe
Over and over again
We'll carry the blame for the hell we can't leave
Show me
The path that leads into your mind
Release
The thoughts you locked deep inside
Show me
I'm the one who knew this pain
Release
Before you fall into this again
Building a life out of all that you hate
We see through the front you tried to create
The world you hoped for was only a fake
And just like the maggots you made this way
I know
Lyrics submitted by WakeToLife
Ribcage Lyrics as written by Ryan Clark Don Clark
Lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
from demonhunter.net “Ribcage” is a song about addiction and the vicious cycle that we put ourselves in when we become addicted to something. Whether it’s alcohol, drugs, pornography, or anything else, these things are killers- and not just to the individual. This song explains what it does to the people that you love when you allow these addictions into your life. The line, “Break through the ribcage and tear the heart out from everyone that you love” shows how the addicted will destroy anything on their path of addiction, even the people they love the most.
“Feed, feed the lust you need, and fainter grows each plea from skies above” is referring to God’s voice in your life, and how His voice can be overshadowed by these sins when you allow them to consume you.
Don’t you know that ever since antiquity, from the time man was placed on earth, the joy of the wicked has been grief and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment? Job 20:5