"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.
Son, there are mirrors here -- watch your performing little whales
Or snip your harness off and take another walk around the bay
The way the English say: "We only mustn't grumble in the end,"
A needle in your back, an arrow in your heart, you smile
Is your wax doll still crying in the fire?
It cramps your handwriting and dulls what little style you have
You cast your mind back to professionals like Alan Breeze
Who sees the windows freeze and hands around the keys
"Unlock yourself," he says, but no one ever does
Except for Jacob Lurch, and Mr. Moose and Dandy
Is your wax doll still crying in the fire?
Is your wax doll still crying in the fire?
Son, there are breakers here -- your living room it glides across the sea
Or high above the waves, the wrinkled little waves you cannot smooth
We travel everywhere, we're gonna take the suburbs to the stars
If I was man enough, I'd come on your stump
If I was man enough, I'd come on your stump
But don't you know, this is the Home Counties?
Is your wax doll still crying in the fire?
Is your wax doll still crying in the fire?
Is your wax doll still crying in the fire?
What you say, what you do
What you say, what you say, what you say
What you do, what you do, what you do
Ahh
Do you think that anybody wants to be your friend
Now that they know?
Or snip your harness off and take another walk around the bay
The way the English say: "We only mustn't grumble in the end,"
A needle in your back, an arrow in your heart, you smile
Is your wax doll still crying in the fire?
It cramps your handwriting and dulls what little style you have
You cast your mind back to professionals like Alan Breeze
Who sees the windows freeze and hands around the keys
"Unlock yourself," he says, but no one ever does
Except for Jacob Lurch, and Mr. Moose and Dandy
Is your wax doll still crying in the fire?
Is your wax doll still crying in the fire?
Son, there are breakers here -- your living room it glides across the sea
Or high above the waves, the wrinkled little waves you cannot smooth
We travel everywhere, we're gonna take the suburbs to the stars
If I was man enough, I'd come on your stump
If I was man enough, I'd come on your stump
But don't you know, this is the Home Counties?
Is your wax doll still crying in the fire?
Is your wax doll still crying in the fire?
Is your wax doll still crying in the fire?
What you say, what you do
What you say, what you say, what you say
What you do, what you do, what you do
Ahh
Do you think that anybody wants to be your friend
Now that they know?
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
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
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.
OK, I've enjoyed many a time listening to this Syd-via-Dylan fish-and-frog obsessed loonie: such that usually I have no difficulty making some kind of sense from the oddest of his songs, monologues and other outbursts.
But THIS one? I'll admit, I'm, well...stumped. (Previous word carefully chosen.)
Performing whales? Snip one's harness?
WHAT is it dulls your handwriting etc.?
Well come to think of it, not much on Queen Elvis makes sense. He forgot he'd left "surreal" set to 11, maybe. Crunchy little superman. Oh, fluid? That's the tops!
It could be about the pain of holding a fart in out of politeness. Mirrors/whales/sonar-breakers/military 'intelligence.'/Updike's witches... etc.
Not bad. Robyn finds plenty of comic possibilities in British reticence, "Victorian Squid" for example.<br /> <br /> Do you read Thomas Pynchon by any chance? Or maybe Robert Anton Wilson. Both of whom demonstrate a remarkable ability for finding connections no one else seems to notice, in a manner which makes you hope they aren't as paranoid-schizophrenic as they come across.<br /> <br /> South Park did a whole show on holding in farts so as not to offend a new "flame" (so to speak); it was called "Spontaneous Combustion" and of course involved (in part) Kenny dying from precisely this cause.
From the liner notes of Globe of Frogs, 1988: "All of us exist in a swarming, pulsating world, driven mostly by an unconscious that we ignore and misunderstand. Within the framework of 'civilisation' we remain as savage as possible. Against the dense traffic of modern life, we fortify our animal selves with video violence, imaginary sex, and music…but our inflamed and disoriented psyches smoulder on beneath the wet leaves of habit."
I think RH is riffing on the same idea in this song. It alludes to conformity and how society makes us repress our real selves, then we turn to psychologists ("professionla like Alan Breeze...").
"Snip off your harness" makes perfect sense in this context.
@urbangorilla - It is a fine theory, except Alan Breeze is a singer. Here he is doing "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts." He died in 1980. youtube.com/watch