"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.
Are you lost
In your lies?
Do you tell yourself "I don't realize"?
Your crusade's a disguise
Replace freedom with fear
You trade money for lives
I'm aware of what you've done
No, no more sorrow
I've paid for your mistakes
Your time is borrowed
Your time has come to be replaced
I see pain
I see need
I see liars and thieves
Abuse power with greed
I had hope
I believed
But I'm beginning to think that I've been deceived
You will pay for what you've done
No, no more sorrow
I've paid for your mistakes
Your time is borrowed
Your time has come to be replaced
Thieves and hypocrites
Thieves and hypocrites
Thieves and hypocrites
No, no more sorrow
I've paid for your mistakes
Your time is borrowed
Your time has come to be replaced
No more sorrow
I've paid for your mistakes
Your time is borrowed
Your time has come to be replaced
Your time has come to be replaced
Your time has come to be erased
In your lies?
Do you tell yourself "I don't realize"?
Your crusade's a disguise
Replace freedom with fear
You trade money for lives
I'm aware of what you've done
No, no more sorrow
I've paid for your mistakes
Your time is borrowed
Your time has come to be replaced
I see pain
I see need
I see liars and thieves
Abuse power with greed
I had hope
I believed
But I'm beginning to think that I've been deceived
You will pay for what you've done
No, no more sorrow
I've paid for your mistakes
Your time is borrowed
Your time has come to be replaced
Thieves and hypocrites
Thieves and hypocrites
Thieves and hypocrites
No, no more sorrow
I've paid for your mistakes
Your time is borrowed
Your time has come to be replaced
No more sorrow
I've paid for your mistakes
Your time is borrowed
Your time has come to be replaced
Your time has come to be replaced
Your time has come to be erased
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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”
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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.
It has nothing to with Bush, quite the opposite.
This is about the future of the Obama administration
@Acey88 Oh please, no it freaking isn't. Nice try. It came out in May 2007 and the words are speaking DIRECTLY of the Bush Regime. I mean really? "Your time has come to be replaced" right before an election year, come on. -eyeroll-
@taitelijia This could refer to any president, honestly. Why all the focus on Bush in particular? The centerpiece of Minutes to Midnight is the Doomsday Clock, a clock founded by the "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" that's been ticking down since the 1940s.<br /> <br /> You've gotta admit, Obama did offer "Change", but did we get it? <br /> "I had hope, I believed, But I'm beginning to think that I've been deceived".
I thought I heard face me hypocrites on the 2nd one. I'm not sure, though. It also seems like he says face it. We can only confirm that when the album comes out.
The intro to this is just amazing. I can't wait for a final mastered version.
once again, quite close
Are you lost in your lies? Do you tell yourself I don't realize Your crusade's a disguise? Replace the freedom with fear You trade money for lives I'm aware of what you've done
No No more sorrow I've paid for your mistakes Your time is borrowed Your time has come to be replaced
I've seen pain I've seen need I've seen liars and thieves abuse power with greed I had hope I believed But I'm beginning to think that I've been deceived You will pay for what you've done
No No more sorrow I've paid for your mistakes Your time is borrowed Your time has come to be replaced
Face it, hypocrites! Face it, hypocrites! Face it, hypocrites!
No No more sorrow I've paid for your mistakes Your time is borrowed Your time has come to be replaced
(No) No more sorrow I've paid for your mistakes (No) Your time is borrowed Your time has come to be replaced
(No) Your time has come to be replaced (No) Your time has come to be erased
Honestly... to me... it sounds like he is saying "Thieves and hypocrites" and not "face it, hypocrites"... and "thieves and hypocrites" makes more sense in the context of the song...
I think its sounds more like "fakes and hypocrites"
"Fakes and Hypocrites" is the lyrics
Can you confirm that for absolute sure CrazyRose, cause i'll change it if you can.
definately an anti-gov song, like the way LP changed their sound in this song, the guitars and drums sound awesome in the intro. I hear "thieves and hypocrites" when I listen to it tho.
Actually, it's "face it hypocrite!' listen carefully. Chester puts a lot of emphasis on the 'T' in 'hypocrite' ... so much that it sounds like an 's' plural, but it's not...
I agree with Alexd181. I put on my headphones and listened to the song very closely with my X-Fi. It sounds like "Face it, hypocrite." Singular, not plural. Listen to the last of the three repeats to hear more clearly how hypocrite is singular.