"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.
Rainy day people always seem to know when it's time to call
Rainy day people don't talk
They just listen till they've heard it all
Rainy day lovers don't lie when they tell you
They've been down like you
Rainy day people don't mind if you're cryin' a tear or two
If you get lonely, all you really need is that rainy day love
Rainy day people all know there's no sorrow
They can't rise above
Rainy day lovers don't love any others
That would not be kind
Rainy day people all know how it hangs
On their peace of mind
Rainy day lovers don't lie when they tell you
They've been down there, too
Rainy day people don't mind if you're cryin' a tear or two
Rainy day people always seem to know
When you're feelin' blue
High stepping strutters who land in the gutters
Sometimes need one, too
Take it or leave it or try to believe it
If you've been down too long
Rainy day lovers don't hide love inside, they just pass it on
Rainy day lovers don't hide love inside, they just pass it on
Rainy day people don't talk
They just listen till they've heard it all
Rainy day lovers don't lie when they tell you
They've been down like you
Rainy day people don't mind if you're cryin' a tear or two
If you get lonely, all you really need is that rainy day love
Rainy day people all know there's no sorrow
They can't rise above
Rainy day lovers don't love any others
That would not be kind
Rainy day people all know how it hangs
On their peace of mind
Rainy day lovers don't lie when they tell you
They've been down there, too
Rainy day people don't mind if you're cryin' a tear or two
Rainy day people always seem to know
When you're feelin' blue
High stepping strutters who land in the gutters
Sometimes need one, too
Take it or leave it or try to believe it
If you've been down too long
Rainy day lovers don't hide love inside, they just pass it on
Rainy day lovers don't hide love inside, they just pass it on
Lyrics submitted by ButNeverOutgunned
Rainy Day People Lyrics as written by Gordon Lightfoot
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
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great song....I guess "rainy day people" are like good friends who are loyal no matter what happens
i'm not sure if Lightfoot came up with the term "rainy day people" but i'm pretty sure it is the antonym to the phrase "fair-weather friends." the type of people that are around only when times are good.
I heard this song one night, when I was laying in bed it came on. I pictured a bunch of different people huddled together in different places on a rainy day. Listening to it again, and reading the lyrics I believe the song is talking about people you can count on. They're the kind of people that have had so many problems in their life, that they understand the average person who is down on his luck. ``Rainy day'' is a metaphor for describing the type of people they are, just everyday people who have faced hard times and don't expect much out of life. The kind of person you could find at a diner or bus stop, who will share their personal experiences.
@Disneyfan8 Love your interpretation. Family and friends too who are naturally empathetic and those you can rely on.
Yeah I agree, it's a great song and you're probably right about the friendship thing. The rainy day people are people who really care about you no matter what's going on in your life; they take the good with the bad.
Someone once told me it was about Jehovah's Witnesses, they always seem to know when to call on a rainyday saturday morning. I heard that he knew some of them...I dont know, one could almost put any meaning into this. Its interpretational I think. I could say its someone sharing a rainyday drinking coffee together with a stranger at the beach bistro...who knows, except for the composer hey? Have a nice rainy day, oh, and enjoy your coffee this morning! Cheers.
I read an article about an interview with gordon lightfoot and he said rainy day people are family.
ALL OF YOU ARE WRONG! Lightfoot said this song about people who wait in the wings for a relationship to end so they can swoop in and be the next lover.
@Courtney2384 Yeah, but what does HE know?
gordonlightfoot.com/songbookcommentsabouthissongs.shtml He says it himself, this song is about a person waiting in the wings until a relationship dissolved so they can move in and take their place.
@Courtney2384 You\'re saying Lightfoot wrote a song about manipulating succubus\', who take advantage of someone\'s vulnerability. \r\n\r\nI find it hard to believe Lightfoot would write a song about a Narrissictic Sociopath.
That may well have been his meaning. Fortunately, it lends itself to others. For me, it has everything to do with being someone who, for whatever their reasons, others speak freely, sometimes without much in the way of filters. And I listen. Rarely I may answer. Rarely do I judge. Never do I share what has been said to me. If it helps someone, good... Sometimes having someone listen matters a lot.
Okay, now for me this song is about people from "folk world". To put it simple, as a parallel example I will give the song "Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys" by Ed Bruce. This song is about cowboys, right? Their behaviours, attitude, their general way of being. So here, I believe this song is the same, except it's about folk people. People who connect with each other, because they have a similar sensitivity, similar taste, same "roots", if you may. So they meet on a rainy they, and they get along nicely, but they are complex... Just like cowboys. Just like all kinds of people in the whole wide world. They may seem really simple and stright-forward on the outside, but they hide a lot of beneath, deep inside they are exactly that - "rainy day" people. Cool, isn't it? This is what makes them special! Anyway this is what I got from this song. I didn't think, didn't even pay attention to details - this is just what I feel and I felt like sharing my own interpretation.