"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.
A new apogee begins today
I got rid of all my old dumb ways
I tried to break off conformity
Don’t wonder what’s happened to me
Forget my friends they all left now
A new style for me, a brand new crowd
Tonight, I’ll be at the show again
And then everything will begin to end
Now I’m rocking the pit at the show
There’s no place else I’d rather go
Mainstream music is out of my head
If my song gets big count me dead
Now we’re performing up on stage
It’s not for the money, not for the wage
Take away all the lies you heard before
Music and life are dying every more
The epic of beginning starts anew
A tale of lament is told once through
Don’t believe what you heard on the radio
Be real to the music and always stay true
Look at the others standing around
It’s the same in every single town
Everyone is watching remotely still
The scene again is dying out
Now I’m rocking the pit at the show
There’s no place else I’d rather go
Mainstream music is out of my head
If my song gets big count me dead
Now we’re performing up on stage
It’s not for the money, not for the wage
Take away all the lies you heard before
Music and life are dying every more
But now the scene is gone
It never stayed quite too long
Just long enough to end the song
The music has stopped for good
Time go to home again
Time to end the show again
And when you wake up
Everything... will be the same
I got rid of all my old dumb ways
I tried to break off conformity
Don’t wonder what’s happened to me
Forget my friends they all left now
A new style for me, a brand new crowd
Tonight, I’ll be at the show again
And then everything will begin to end
Now I’m rocking the pit at the show
There’s no place else I’d rather go
Mainstream music is out of my head
If my song gets big count me dead
Now we’re performing up on stage
It’s not for the money, not for the wage
Take away all the lies you heard before
Music and life are dying every more
The epic of beginning starts anew
A tale of lament is told once through
Don’t believe what you heard on the radio
Be real to the music and always stay true
Look at the others standing around
It’s the same in every single town
Everyone is watching remotely still
The scene again is dying out
Now I’m rocking the pit at the show
There’s no place else I’d rather go
Mainstream music is out of my head
If my song gets big count me dead
Now we’re performing up on stage
It’s not for the money, not for the wage
Take away all the lies you heard before
Music and life are dying every more
But now the scene is gone
It never stayed quite too long
Just long enough to end the song
The music has stopped for good
Time go to home again
Time to end the show again
And when you wake up
Everything... will be the same
Lyrics submitted by d3skjet
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
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.