"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.
"The way I see it, " he said
"You just can't win it"
Everybody's in it for their own gain
You can't please them all
There's always someone calling you down
Calling you down, calling you down
But I do my best
And I do good business, I do it well
There's a lot of people asking for my time
Trying to get ahead
They're trying to be a good friend of mine
I deal in dreamers and telephone screamers
Lately, I wonder what I do it for
If l had my way i'd walk through those doors
And wander down the Champs-Elysees
Going cafe to cabaret
Thinking how I'll feel when I find
That very good friend of mine
I was a free man in Paris
(I felt unfettered and alive)
Nobody was calling me up for favors
(And no one's future to decide)
You know I'd go back there tomorrow
(But for the work I've taken on)
Stoking the star maker machinery
(Behind the popular song)
I was a free man in Paris
(I felt unfettered and alive)
Nobody was calling me up for favors
(And no one's future to decide)
You know I'd go back there tomorrow
(But for the work I've taken on)
Stoking the star maker machinery
(Behind the popular song)
"You just can't win it"
Everybody's in it for their own gain
You can't please them all
There's always someone calling you down
Calling you down, calling you down
But I do my best
And I do good business, I do it well
There's a lot of people asking for my time
Trying to get ahead
They're trying to be a good friend of mine
I deal in dreamers and telephone screamers
Lately, I wonder what I do it for
If l had my way i'd walk through those doors
And wander down the Champs-Elysees
Going cafe to cabaret
Thinking how I'll feel when I find
That very good friend of mine
I was a free man in Paris
(I felt unfettered and alive)
Nobody was calling me up for favors
(And no one's future to decide)
You know I'd go back there tomorrow
(But for the work I've taken on)
Stoking the star maker machinery
(Behind the popular song)
I was a free man in Paris
(I felt unfettered and alive)
Nobody was calling me up for favors
(And no one's future to decide)
You know I'd go back there tomorrow
(But for the work I've taken on)
Stoking the star maker machinery
(Behind the popular song)
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
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
atributetojonimitchell.com/sufjan.html