"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.
You used to get it in your fishnets
Now you only get it in your night dress
Discarded all the naughty nights for niceness
Landed in a very common crisis
Everything's in order in a black hole
Nothing seems as pretty as the past though
That Bloody Mary's lacking in Tabasco
Remember when you used to be a rascal?
Oh, the boy's a slag, the best you ever had
The best you ever had is just a memory and those dreams
Weren't as daft as they seem, not as daft as they seemed
My love, when you dream them up
Flicking through a little book of sex tips
Remember when the boys were all electric?
Now when she's told she's gonna get it
I'm guessing that she'd rather just forget it
Clinging 'til I'm getting sentimental
Said she wasn't going but she went still
Likes her gentlemen not to be gentle
Was it a Mecca Dauber or a betting pencil?
Oh, the boy's a slag, the best you ever had
The best you ever had is just a memory and those dreams
Weren't as daft as they seem, not as daft as they seemed
My love, when you dream them up
Oh, Flo, where did you go?
Where did you go? Where did you go? Oh
You're falling about
You took a left off Last Laugh Lane
Just sounding it out
But you're not coming back again
You're falling about
You took a left off Last Laugh Lane
You were just sounding it out
But you're not coming back again
You used to get it in your fishnets (falling about)
Now you only get it in your night dress
Discarded all the naughty nights for niceness (you took a left off Last Laugh Lane)
Landed in a very common crisis
Everything's in order in a black hole (we're sounding it out)
Is everything as pretty as the past though?
That Bloody Mary's lacking in Tabasco (but you're not coming back again)
Remember when you used to be a rascal? Oh
Now you only get it in your night dress
Discarded all the naughty nights for niceness
Landed in a very common crisis
Everything's in order in a black hole
Nothing seems as pretty as the past though
That Bloody Mary's lacking in Tabasco
Remember when you used to be a rascal?
Oh, the boy's a slag, the best you ever had
The best you ever had is just a memory and those dreams
Weren't as daft as they seem, not as daft as they seemed
My love, when you dream them up
Flicking through a little book of sex tips
Remember when the boys were all electric?
Now when she's told she's gonna get it
I'm guessing that she'd rather just forget it
Clinging 'til I'm getting sentimental
Said she wasn't going but she went still
Likes her gentlemen not to be gentle
Was it a Mecca Dauber or a betting pencil?
Oh, the boy's a slag, the best you ever had
The best you ever had is just a memory and those dreams
Weren't as daft as they seem, not as daft as they seemed
My love, when you dream them up
Oh, Flo, where did you go?
Where did you go? Where did you go? Oh
You're falling about
You took a left off Last Laugh Lane
Just sounding it out
But you're not coming back again
You're falling about
You took a left off Last Laugh Lane
You were just sounding it out
But you're not coming back again
You used to get it in your fishnets (falling about)
Now you only get it in your night dress
Discarded all the naughty nights for niceness (you took a left off Last Laugh Lane)
Landed in a very common crisis
Everything's in order in a black hole (we're sounding it out)
Is everything as pretty as the past though?
That Bloody Mary's lacking in Tabasco (but you're not coming back again)
Remember when you used to be a rascal? Oh
Lyrics submitted by sedders, edited by FClef, happysadfun, ponderst, jt, ElephantBones, rouf29
Fluorescent Adolescent Lyrics as written by Alex Turner Johanna Bennett
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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.
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."
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Anyone else think its about a relationship getting old? And then the woman in the relation ship cheats on the man in order to gain back some excitement in her life. (Love the song by the way and ive analysed the CORRECT lyrics below.)
You used to get it in your fishnets (Which is sexy)
Now you only get it in your night dress (Typical and boring)
Discarded the naughty nights with niceness (Less sex more jsut being nice, perhaps having tea with the neighbours or something shit like that.)
Landed in a very common crisis (This happens to most relationships)
Everything's in order in a black hole (Relationship is comapred to a black hole its in order but its lifeless and dull and sucks everything that ever was into it)
Nothing seems as pretty as the past though (It was better in the past)
That Bloody Mary's lacking in Tabasco (Looking for more kicks in life than the same old boring relationship like adding more tabasco to the bloody mary)
Remember when he used to be a rascal? (thats what he used to be like)
Oh that boy's a slag The best you ever had The best you ever had
(This is the woman looking back on the man and waht he used to be like this is apprent because of the last line of the first verse which tells the woman to remember.)
Is just a memory and those dreams Not as daft as they seem Not as daft as they seem My love when you dream them up...
(What he used to be like is just a memory and she dreams that he'll be the same again there not that daft but shes just making them up.)
Flicking through a little book of sex tips (Trying to spice things up)
Remember when the boys were all electric? (When she used to get all the boys)
Now when she tells she's gonna get it (she thinks hses going to get sex)
I'm guessing that she'd rather just forget i (sarcastic comment by the narrator she dosent want to forget it she wants to live it)
Clinging to not getting sentimental (she dosent want to cling on for someone, settle down, she wants to relive the hayday when she was a 'fluroscent adolescent'.)
Said she wasn't going but she went still (Perhaps she goes to cheat on her fella?)
Likes her gentlemen to not be gentle (Everything in this relationship is just too comfy she wants excitement)
Was it a megadobber or a betting pencil? (Ha don't know what this is about. But the first thing i thought of was that it was some sort of sex game or something and i dont know here the megadobebr or the betting pencil are going. Maybe shes comparing the size of her partners dick to this new fellas. No idea)
Falling about (Shes drunk)
You took a left off Last Laugh Lane (Turns down the road and laughs. She's ahd the last laugh at her boring fella)
You just sounded it out (She just got it all out of her by having a bit of excitment with another guy not leading the boring drab lifestyle)
You're not coming back again. (However she's not doing again... she dosen't need to shes had her fun its back to her normal life.)
Remember when the boys were all electric?<br /> (When she used to get all the boys)<br /> <br /> he's talking about a vibrator.
Was it a megadobber or a betting pencil?<br /> (Ha don't know what this is about. But the first thing i thought of was that it was some sort of sex game or something and i dont know here the megadobebr or the betting pencil are going. Maybe shes comparing the size of her partners dick to this new fellas. No idea)<br /> <br /> mecca daubber or a betting pencil.<br /> <br /> it's a sexual reference to a mans penis. a meccadobber is a marker used to mark spots in bingo.
I definetly think that that whole analysis thing is pretty accurate. You pretty much explained the songs and showed the correct lyrics. nicely done.
well done columbo
mecca dobber = an unwanted erection like when you're staring at a hottie in public<br /> <br /> betting pencil = a marker used in bingo, thicker than the usual marker used for writing.<br /> <br /> ERGO. well, i think it's obvious enough
This was definitely a good explanation. I don't really agree with the boys being electric representing a vibrator at all. It just does not fit the flow of the song. It is one of the lines that are just as is, she used to get excited by all sorts of guys before she settled down. The mecca dauber v. the betting pencil are both used for some form of minor gambling. A mecca dauber is huge compared to a betting pencil. This begs the question "did she settle down for a man with a mecca dauber size penis or a thin little betting pencil?
the "Remember when the boys were all electric?"<br /> <br /> acually works in that as it is suppose to be when she was a virgin useing a vibrator and was excited for sex but now doesn't care about or want to remember the sex she has now.
I'm guessing that she'd rather just forget it<br /> (She think he's gonna make her do sex but he's saying just forget it, I'm not having sex)
I'm guessing that she'd rather just forget it<br /> (She think he's gonna make her do sex but he's saying just forget it, I'm not having sex)
I think you're pretty much spot on with everything. Although with the "Remember when the boys were all electric?", I wonder if he's alluding to how as men get older they start losing their sex drive. "Electric" kind of being "electrified" by wanting sex, but as her guy gets older he's not as enthusiastic about it, while she still is. Because I have to agree with strokez; I don't really think that referring to a vibrator really fits...
@amypowers <br /> <br /> Was it a Mecca dobber or a betting pencil?<br /> <br /> Mecca is a change of bingo halls in the UK. The dobber is a large thick pen used to mark the bingo cards. <br /> A betting pencil is a small thin little pencil, think Ikea pencil, used in horse betting shops.<br /> <br /> Referencing penis size
@amypowers <br /> also i maybe didn't see it when reading but there's that part... "when you dreamed them up oh flo, where did you go(×3), o-oh" <br /> im guessing meaning the woman is also dealing with menopause in her older years therefore losing her period. Just a guess. I think that's what he is saying.
I can see people are feeling very different messages from this song. But I really just see it as a song about getting older, about excitement dying down and basically getting to the time in your life when the spice of your life is gone. Excitement and fun are replaced with a regular suburban life, thats all I see in it.
im sure it's about a woman who used to be a 'fluorescent adolescent', but is now going through menopause 'That Bloody Mary's lacking a Tabasco'. She is remembering her days as a younger, more sexually attractive girl. 'You used to get it in your fishnets/ Now you only get it in your night dress' i.e she used to have sex when she went out in her fishnets, now only has sex in her nightdress (with herself...) she is remembering all her one night stands and how boys used to fall at her feet 'Remember when he used to be a rascal?' She wishes she was still like that, and was a bit naughty 'Likes her gentlemen to not be gentle/ Was it a mega-dobber or a betting pencil?' Shes recently had sex with a man, maybe a male prostitute (slag is the english version for slut, usually used for girls but can be for boys too) Oh, that boy's a slag, the best you ever had (its the best she's had in ages, with the male prositute) The best you ever had is just a memory (she remembers being younger, the best of her life is gone) that's what i've always thought!
It's about a young woman who is losing her lustre.. and knows it. There's nothing else to be read into it, would you like to deconstruct the lyrics of "New Amsterdam" by Elvis Costella while you're at it?
Just a spelling fix, as I think the meaning has been nailed.
Megadobber = mecca dauber
I don't understand how some people think this is about a relationship. I just think this is such a straight-forward tale of a woman who's out of her sexual youth and is looking back on how things used to be. The lyrics, the title... all pretty evident.
But, regardless, brilliant lyrics. The entire album is great.
Alex said this song is basically about growing up. "you used to get it in your fishnets now you only get it in your nightdress..."
fishnet resembles being young and now your older you go out to clubs and parties and where a nightdress.
"Nothing seems as the past though" to being young and looking back at the good times "Remember when he used to a rascal?" remember him being Juvenile
I agree. And I love the song AND the band. Just not comfortable with the attitude that life stops once you leave behind (or curtail...better word) certain behaviors that one usually exhibits in their teens and early 20's. Life doesn't end as we age. If you are young at heart and have similar-minded friends, you can still have a ball! I have a good friend named Mitzi who attends every music concert in the state (if she can take time off); she goes to clubs with her girlfriends to dance; she loves to eat out and drink; and she does this while being a mother of two; a married woman (happily married) and someone who works in the medical field Monday thru Friday each week. How one "grows up" is a choice. You can grow old quickly or you can rearrage your life so you don't give up those fun things you did when you were younger. Stop worrying about aging; it really DOES get better as you age...
It's about a girl who used to be crazy. Absolutely wild, going to parties, clubs and dressing trashy to get attention from boys. She craves sex and therefore is just known by the girl who will do whatever and whenever. Now, she has settled down after she got pregnant, "that bloody mary's lacking her tabasco" means that she skipped her period. It's unclear whether she ends up with the guy (slag) who impregnated her, but it is clear that whoever the guy was, was inadequate. She felt the need to settle and settled the guy who was easiest to get and now is just getting action in her nightdress, reminiscing on being young and free. Trying her best to be happy with such a guy, and her conditions.
@ghosty17 I commented something kinda like this explanation too
I'm pretty sure this is about a woman growing older and less physically attractive, and realizing she has to sort of settle for whatever she gets, instead of having her pick. It's sort of funny they would write a song like this.
Yes bakismaki you are right, not the above comments. I think it is a woman who is hitting her forties, she used to be dripping wet, now she's just dripping (ie. everything went down south). They pity her really, but she loves to think she's young and mad (hence the title), so she sleeps with young men to make herself feel special and attractive