"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.
I have no control when I’m with you
I don’t know why I miss you
When I pick you up you always throw me down
At the bottom of this cup
Is where I’m always found
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
Keep telling me I’m having fun
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
And don’t stop
Until I’m done
I lose control when I’m with you another late night with something else in
Store for me but I can’t stop now
At the bottom of this cup
Is where I’ll always drown
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
Keep telling me I’m having fun
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
And don’t stop
Until I’m done
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
Keep telling me I’m having fun
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
And don’t stop
Until
I’m done
Number one
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
Keep telling me I’m having fun
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
And don’t stop
Until you know
We’re done
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
Keep telling me I’m having fun
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
And don’t stop
Until you know
We’re done
Pour another one
I don’t know why I miss you
When I pick you up you always throw me down
At the bottom of this cup
Is where I’m always found
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
Keep telling me I’m having fun
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
And don’t stop
Until I’m done
I lose control when I’m with you another late night with something else in
Store for me but I can’t stop now
At the bottom of this cup
Is where I’ll always drown
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
Keep telling me I’m having fun
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
And don’t stop
Until I’m done
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
Keep telling me I’m having fun
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
And don’t stop
Until
I’m done
Number one
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
Keep telling me I’m having fun
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
And don’t stop
Until you know
We’re done
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
Keep telling me I’m having fun
Pour another one
Whoa-oh
And don’t stop
Until you know
We’re done
Pour another one
Lyrics submitted by cheddaringo
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
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.
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.
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.