"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.
After three good years together we had our first big fight
So she went to her mother's and I went for a drive
Down an old familiar highway, just a few miles out of town
To that rundown one-room tavern that used to be my stomping ground
Well I pulled in the driveway, you know it all still looked the same
And I couldn't wait to down a few and hear that jukebox ring
But as I walked in through the doorway
Well there stood some kind of matre' d
Well he looked me up and he looked me down, said
"May I help you please?", and I said
"What'd you do with those swinging doors?
Where's the sawdust on the floor?
Why's everybody wearing suits and ties?
From where I stand I can't believe my eyes
And who's idea was it to hang these furs?
This brand new bar don't have a single burn
I guess I'm somewhere that I don't belong
I need a jukebox with a country song"
Well I look back to the corner where the jukebox once stood proud
Some clown was playing records, too fast, too long and too loud
And it must have been a big mistake to try to speak my mind
So as they were asking me to leave I cried out one more time
"What'd you do with those swinging doors?
Where's the sawdust on the floor?
Why's everybody wearing suits and ties?
From where I stand I can't believe my eyes
And who's idea was it to hang these furs?
This brand new bar don't have a single burn
I guess I'm somewhere that I don't belong
I need a jukebox with a country song"
I guess I don't belong without a jukebox and a country song
So she went to her mother's and I went for a drive
Down an old familiar highway, just a few miles out of town
To that rundown one-room tavern that used to be my stomping ground
Well I pulled in the driveway, you know it all still looked the same
And I couldn't wait to down a few and hear that jukebox ring
But as I walked in through the doorway
Well there stood some kind of matre' d
Well he looked me up and he looked me down, said
"May I help you please?", and I said
"What'd you do with those swinging doors?
Where's the sawdust on the floor?
Why's everybody wearing suits and ties?
From where I stand I can't believe my eyes
And who's idea was it to hang these furs?
This brand new bar don't have a single burn
I guess I'm somewhere that I don't belong
I need a jukebox with a country song"
Well I look back to the corner where the jukebox once stood proud
Some clown was playing records, too fast, too long and too loud
And it must have been a big mistake to try to speak my mind
So as they were asking me to leave I cried out one more time
"What'd you do with those swinging doors?
Where's the sawdust on the floor?
Why's everybody wearing suits and ties?
From where I stand I can't believe my eyes
And who's idea was it to hang these furs?
This brand new bar don't have a single burn
I guess I'm somewhere that I don't belong
I need a jukebox with a country song"
I guess I don't belong without a jukebox and a country song
Lyrics submitted by eric_jr2005
A Jukebox with a Country Song Lyrics as written by Gene Nelson Charles Eugene Nelson
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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.
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.