"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.
"Death be not proud
Though some have called thee Mighty and dreadfull
For, thou art not so
Though soonest our best men with thee goe
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow
Die not, poore death,
Nor canst thou kill me"
Immolation
An immoral sacrifice
Martyrs of deception
The cross of the crucified
Seeking out the truth of forever
And drowning in the flames of lies
Embrace the prophets of deception
And watch the innocent die
Suffering
And die for your lord
Martyrs still feel the pain
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
Infidels are to blame
Fire meets fire
As war is waged
Where is your God as you burn?
Paradise fades to black
No rewards now you learn
Slaves to devotion
Their faith makes them blind
Purify the sinner
The servants to the kingdom of lives
Bow to your savior
But your savior was born in lies
Faith has been corrupted
To kill for God is not divine
The slaughter of the innocent
And the rape of the weak
Is this divinity?
Is this the kingdom you seek?
Faith has been afflicted
The righteous have been deceived
They shall find
There is nothing but enemies
And on their alters
The weak shall bleed
Their Gods they have fallen
Their martyrs have gone in vain
These are the children of deception
They are lost
Condemned and shamed
Bow to your savior
But your savior was born in lies
Faith has been corrupted
To kill for God is not divine
The slaughter of the innocent
And the rape of the weak
Is this divinity?
Is this the kingdom you seek?
Though some have called thee Mighty and dreadfull
For, thou art not so
Though soonest our best men with thee goe
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow
Die not, poore death,
Nor canst thou kill me"
Immolation
An immoral sacrifice
Martyrs of deception
The cross of the crucified
Seeking out the truth of forever
And drowning in the flames of lies
Embrace the prophets of deception
And watch the innocent die
Suffering
And die for your lord
Martyrs still feel the pain
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
Infidels are to blame
Fire meets fire
As war is waged
Where is your God as you burn?
Paradise fades to black
No rewards now you learn
Slaves to devotion
Their faith makes them blind
Purify the sinner
The servants to the kingdom of lives
Bow to your savior
But your savior was born in lies
Faith has been corrupted
To kill for God is not divine
The slaughter of the innocent
And the rape of the weak
Is this divinity?
Is this the kingdom you seek?
Faith has been afflicted
The righteous have been deceived
They shall find
There is nothing but enemies
And on their alters
The weak shall bleed
Their Gods they have fallen
Their martyrs have gone in vain
These are the children of deception
They are lost
Condemned and shamed
Bow to your savior
But your savior was born in lies
Faith has been corrupted
To kill for God is not divine
The slaughter of the innocent
And the rape of the weak
Is this divinity?
Is this the kingdom you seek?
Lyrics submitted by xPKx
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"
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."
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.