"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.
Oh baby I like it raw
Yeah, baby I like it raw
Oh baby I like it raw
Yeah, baby I like it raw
Shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yam shimmy ya
Gimme the mic so I can take it away
Off on a natural charge bon-voyage
Yeah from the home of the Dodger Brooklyn squad
Wu-Tang killer bees on a swarm
Rain on your college-ass disco dorm
For you to even touch my skill
You gotta put the one killer bee and he ain't gonna kill
Now chop that down, pass it all around
Lyrics get hard quick cement to the ground
For any emcee in any fifty two states
I get psycho, killer, Norman Bates
My producer slam, my flow is like bam
Jump on stage ah then I dip down
(I like the way you talk)
Oh baby I like it raw
Yeah, baby I like it raw
Oh baby I like it raw
Yeah, baby I like it raw
Oh baby I like it raw
Yeah, baby I like it raw
Oh baby I like it raw
Yeah, baby I like it raw
Shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yam shimmy ya
Gimme the mic so I can take it away
Off on a natural charge bon-voyage
Yeah from the home of the Dodger Brooklyn squad
Wu-Tang killer bees on a swarm
Rain on your college-ass disco dorm
For you to even touch my skill
You gotta put the one killer bee and he ain't gonna kill
Now chop that down, pass it all around
Lyrics get hard quick cement to the ground
For any emcee in any fifty two states
I get psycho, killer, Norman Bates
My producer slam my flow is like bam
Jump on stage ah then I dip down
Sh-Shimmy shimmy ya, ya
Sh-Sh-Shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yam shimmy ya
Sh-Sh-Shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yam shimmy ya
Sh-Sh-Shimmy, shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yam shimmy ya
Sh-Shimmy, sh-sh-shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yam shimmy ya
Gimme the mic so I can take it away
Shimmy shimmy ya
Yeah, baby I like it raw
Oh baby I like it raw
Yeah, baby I like it raw
Shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yam shimmy ya
Gimme the mic so I can take it away
Off on a natural charge bon-voyage
Yeah from the home of the Dodger Brooklyn squad
Wu-Tang killer bees on a swarm
Rain on your college-ass disco dorm
For you to even touch my skill
You gotta put the one killer bee and he ain't gonna kill
Now chop that down, pass it all around
Lyrics get hard quick cement to the ground
For any emcee in any fifty two states
I get psycho, killer, Norman Bates
My producer slam, my flow is like bam
Jump on stage ah then I dip down
(I like the way you talk)
Oh baby I like it raw
Yeah, baby I like it raw
Oh baby I like it raw
Yeah, baby I like it raw
Oh baby I like it raw
Yeah, baby I like it raw
Oh baby I like it raw
Yeah, baby I like it raw
Shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yam shimmy ya
Gimme the mic so I can take it away
Off on a natural charge bon-voyage
Yeah from the home of the Dodger Brooklyn squad
Wu-Tang killer bees on a swarm
Rain on your college-ass disco dorm
For you to even touch my skill
You gotta put the one killer bee and he ain't gonna kill
Now chop that down, pass it all around
Lyrics get hard quick cement to the ground
For any emcee in any fifty two states
I get psycho, killer, Norman Bates
My producer slam my flow is like bam
Jump on stage ah then I dip down
Sh-Shimmy shimmy ya, ya
Sh-Sh-Shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yam shimmy ya
Sh-Sh-Shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yam shimmy ya
Sh-Sh-Shimmy, shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yam shimmy ya
Sh-Shimmy, sh-sh-shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yam shimmy ya
Gimme the mic so I can take it away
Shimmy shimmy ya
Lyrics submitted by ButNeverOutgunned
Shimmy Shimmy Ya Lyrics as written by Robert Diggs Russell Jones
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
he's bragging about his skills on the mic.
wheres the second verse? i cant find it anywhere on any lyric site
The second verse is the first verse repeated (hence:[First Verse repeats]).<br />
52 States? Does he think Puerto Rico & Guam are States or is he confusing the States with how many cards there are in a deck?
It's clear he was a few cards short of a full deck. Awesome song, though.
sicks ong though
The video shows a depiction of the '70s where big afros and platform shoes were in. ODB talks about doing a little dance with the ladies.