"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.
My heart knows
It needs protection
While it grows
Somebody show me
A place I can go where love's around
A trip to the ocean
I just need to get far from town
There's no way around this
No way around this
No way around this troubled soul
Now you're gone
And I stand, I stand
Between time
Somebody show me
A place I can go where love's around
A trip to the ocean
I just need to get far from town
It needs protection
While it grows
Somebody show me
A place I can go where love's around
A trip to the ocean
I just need to get far from town
There's no way around this
No way around this
No way around this troubled soul
Now you're gone
And I stand, I stand
Between time
Somebody show me
A place I can go where love's around
A trip to the ocean
I just need to get far from town
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Fast Car
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Blue
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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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
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Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
These lyrics seem to express a longing for love, protection, and a sense of escape. The speaker is searching for a place where love is present, perhaps to heal a troubled soul. They mention wanting to go to the ocean, symbolizing a desire to get away from their current surroundings and find solace in a peaceful and distant place. Overall, the lyrics convey a yearning for love, emotional healing, and a need to find a refuge from the challenges they face.