"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 most tender place in my heart is for strangers
I know it's unkind but my own blood is much too dangerous
Hangin' 'round the ceiling half the time
Hangin' 'round the ceiling half the time
Compared to some I've been around
But I really tried so hard
That echo chorus lied to me with its
"Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on"
In the end I was the mean girl
Or somebody's in-between girl
Now it's the devil I love (ah)
And it's as funny as real love
I leave the party at 3 AM
Alone, thank god
With a Valium from the bride
It's the devil I love
It's a devil I love (ah)
And it's as funny as real love
And that's as real as true love
That echo chorus lied to me with its
"Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on"
That echo chorus lied to me with its
"Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on"
I know it's unkind but my own blood is much too dangerous
Hangin' 'round the ceiling half the time
Hangin' 'round the ceiling half the time
Compared to some I've been around
But I really tried so hard
That echo chorus lied to me with its
"Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on"
In the end I was the mean girl
Or somebody's in-between girl
Now it's the devil I love (ah)
And it's as funny as real love
I leave the party at 3 AM
Alone, thank god
With a Valium from the bride
It's the devil I love
It's a devil I love (ah)
And it's as funny as real love
And that's as real as true love
That echo chorus lied to me with its
"Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on"
That echo chorus lied to me with its
"Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on"
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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/
I never thought of the first line being about her family. I always thought this song was about how someone feels after a break up.
I had always thought the "The most tender place in my heart is for strangers, I know it's unkind but my own blood is much too dangerous" was her talking about herself. Much like the Narcissist and Echo myth in ancient Greece, I believe this song to be a narcissist way of talking about her own blood, and finding out that its dangerous through a failed relationship (pining over Echo). This lead her to have more compassion for strangers and others than herself.
When I hear the line "hanging around the ceiling" I always got this image of someone just lying on the floor or on their bed staring at the ceiling, thinking, though it probably has a lot more metaphorical depth than this.
The "compared to some..." line, I think refers to her trying too hard to be loveable and in a relationship, and it ultimately failing when she says that the "echo chorus" lied by telling her to have hope and to hold onto it.
This realization comes when in the end of the failed relationship results in her being the "mean girl" or somebody's "in between girl" because she can't settle down and commit, because she's ultimately running from herself and the belief that she is unloveable based on past failed relationships. Strangers are easier to love because they don't know and they don't know where she's been, and vice versa. She rather would indulge in the dark, and the "devil" in her, so to speak because that's who believes she is.
I think the valium from the bride line is interesting. I think this could be a metaphor for the bliss one feels after they get married. When she's alone she feels the same high that a bride feels on her wedding night. She lives for the devil inside her, but thinks it's ironic and it almost has this tone of sarcasm near the end. I think she longs for love, but uses the devil in her as a defence because she would rather be alone, even though she acknowledges true love is real. I don't think she likes where she is at. This whole song reeks of dissatisfaction and escapism. So simple, but so brilliant...