"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.
Yeah, ladies and gentlemen
I'll like to thank you all for coming out tonight
It's my third album, third tour, third time's a charm
Girl when I go, I wanna take you 'round the globe with me
I got doe, the kinda paper you can blow with me
And baby I know that money ain't everything
But it's for sure and ain't for nothing when you f*** with me
When I go
Follow my lead, baby, I could be all you need
If you follow my lead
Follow my lead, I'll hold you down, put your trust in me
Baby follow my lead
Follow my lead, I think God made you for me
Follow my lead
Follow my lead, I'm the one girl in time you'll see
If you follow my lead
don't listen to the rumors, they say 50 f***in' crazy
50 don't know how to treat a lady, they wrong
I like you a lot, I don't wanna hurt you
But I call a square a square and a circle a circle
So if you act like a b****, I call you a b****
Then hang up, probably call you right back and s***
And I have to say, baby, I apologize
Cross my fingers, God forgive me for tellin' lies
Like Janet Jackson said, "I miss you much?
I really wanna feel your touch and smell your scent
Baby, I could pa** the day watchin' you model lingerie
I wanna spend the night tonight, shorty, if it?s okay
You could be my Beyonce, I'll be your Jay
Ha ha, I gotta great sense of humor
First I'll make ya smile then I woo ya
You know I wanna do ya, or do ya?
Follow my lead, baby, I could be all you need
If you follow my lead
Follow my lead, I'll hold you down, put your trust in me
Baby follow my lead
Follow my lead, I think God made you for me
Follow my lead
Follow my lead, I'm the one girl in time you'll see
If you follow my lead
After seven hours, New York to London
You're wonderin' what's gonna be the next stop
I told you, I'm a don, you gonna know I'm a don
After you shop 'til your feet hurtin' in Milan
Now take a picture, these are moments you can cherish
They say the scenery was made for lovers out in Paris
Ask a fan about me they say, 50, we love him
Without them there's no me so I love them
Man, they're the reason I exist, the reason I insist
I'm never less than the best, I'm perfection I guess
That's why n****s are stressed, I pa** the test
Every time I drop I'm burnin' hot
So I don't care if she loves me or loves me not
Long as I enjoy the time that we spend
I ain't lookin' for commitment, we could f*** and be friends
Matter of fact we can do it right in back in my Benz
I get it done with speed
Follow my lead, baby, I could be all you need
If you follow my lead
Follow my lead, I'll hold you down, put your trust in me
Baby follow my lead
Follow my lead, I think God made you for me
Follow my lead
Follow my lead, I'm the one girl in time you'll see
If you follow my lead
Follow, follow my lead
Follow my lead, follow my lead
Follow my lead
Baby, follow my lead
Follow my lead
I'll like to thank you all for coming out tonight
It's my third album, third tour, third time's a charm
Girl when I go, I wanna take you 'round the globe with me
I got doe, the kinda paper you can blow with me
And baby I know that money ain't everything
But it's for sure and ain't for nothing when you f*** with me
When I go
Follow my lead, baby, I could be all you need
If you follow my lead
Follow my lead, I'll hold you down, put your trust in me
Baby follow my lead
Follow my lead, I think God made you for me
Follow my lead
Follow my lead, I'm the one girl in time you'll see
If you follow my lead
don't listen to the rumors, they say 50 f***in' crazy
50 don't know how to treat a lady, they wrong
I like you a lot, I don't wanna hurt you
But I call a square a square and a circle a circle
So if you act like a b****, I call you a b****
Then hang up, probably call you right back and s***
And I have to say, baby, I apologize
Cross my fingers, God forgive me for tellin' lies
Like Janet Jackson said, "I miss you much?
I really wanna feel your touch and smell your scent
Baby, I could pa** the day watchin' you model lingerie
I wanna spend the night tonight, shorty, if it?s okay
You could be my Beyonce, I'll be your Jay
Ha ha, I gotta great sense of humor
First I'll make ya smile then I woo ya
You know I wanna do ya, or do ya?
Follow my lead, baby, I could be all you need
If you follow my lead
Follow my lead, I'll hold you down, put your trust in me
Baby follow my lead
Follow my lead, I think God made you for me
Follow my lead
Follow my lead, I'm the one girl in time you'll see
If you follow my lead
After seven hours, New York to London
You're wonderin' what's gonna be the next stop
I told you, I'm a don, you gonna know I'm a don
After you shop 'til your feet hurtin' in Milan
Now take a picture, these are moments you can cherish
They say the scenery was made for lovers out in Paris
Ask a fan about me they say, 50, we love him
Without them there's no me so I love them
Man, they're the reason I exist, the reason I insist
I'm never less than the best, I'm perfection I guess
That's why n****s are stressed, I pa** the test
Every time I drop I'm burnin' hot
So I don't care if she loves me or loves me not
Long as I enjoy the time that we spend
I ain't lookin' for commitment, we could f*** and be friends
Matter of fact we can do it right in back in my Benz
I get it done with speed
Follow my lead, baby, I could be all you need
If you follow my lead
Follow my lead, I'll hold you down, put your trust in me
Baby follow my lead
Follow my lead, I think God made you for me
Follow my lead
Follow my lead, I'm the one girl in time you'll see
If you follow my lead
Follow, follow my lead
Follow my lead, follow my lead
Follow my lead
Baby, follow my lead
Follow my lead
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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,
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.