"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.
Hello?
Scotty!
What are you doing?
Nothing.
Me neither.
What should we do?
Oh my god, let's go to the mall!
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all. Pshyeah! (Let's go to the mall)
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all (Let's go to the mall)
I wanna go to every store
They call me clearance aisle whore
I wanna shop until I hit the floor
Look at all the pretty boys
Let’s go play in K-B toys
Come on everybody let’s make some noise. Pshyeah!
Look at all the fashion zombies hanging out at Abercrombie
Shop until we drop
Rockin’ down the escalator – Moshin’ in the elevator
Shop until we drop
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all. Pshyeah! (Let's go to the mall)
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all (Let's go to the mall)
Look how everybody stares
Let’s just act like we don’t care
Come on everybody let’s Build a Bear
It’s time to walk around and flirt
Let’s go find yourself a skirt
Come on and make those tight pants work
Gotta get some shoes – Gotta get a new belt
Gotta get some jeans – Gotta get a new top
Shop until we drop
Rockin’ down the escalator – Moshin’ in the elevator
Shop until we drop
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all. Pshyeah! (Let's go to the mall)
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all (Let's go to the mall)
Hello?
Where are you?
I'm over here.
Where?
Good lord, I'm in the food court.
Banana Republic, Guess, Forever 21 – Stop it
Meet me in the dressing room
in Hot Topic
Everything’s on sale to me
Let’s have ourselves a shopping spree
Shop until we drop
Rockin’ down the escalator – Moshin’ in the elevator
Shop until we drop
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all. Pshyeah! (Let's go to the mall)
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all (Let's go to the mall)
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all. Pshyeah! (Let's go to the mall)
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all (Let's go to the mall)
Scotty!
What are you doing?
Nothing.
Me neither.
What should we do?
Oh my god, let's go to the mall!
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all. Pshyeah! (Let's go to the mall)
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all (Let's go to the mall)
I wanna go to every store
They call me clearance aisle whore
I wanna shop until I hit the floor
Look at all the pretty boys
Let’s go play in K-B toys
Come on everybody let’s make some noise. Pshyeah!
Look at all the fashion zombies hanging out at Abercrombie
Shop until we drop
Rockin’ down the escalator – Moshin’ in the elevator
Shop until we drop
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all. Pshyeah! (Let's go to the mall)
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all (Let's go to the mall)
Look how everybody stares
Let’s just act like we don’t care
Come on everybody let’s Build a Bear
It’s time to walk around and flirt
Let’s go find yourself a skirt
Come on and make those tight pants work
Gotta get some shoes – Gotta get a new belt
Gotta get some jeans – Gotta get a new top
Shop until we drop
Rockin’ down the escalator – Moshin’ in the elevator
Shop until we drop
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all. Pshyeah! (Let's go to the mall)
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all (Let's go to the mall)
Hello?
Where are you?
I'm over here.
Where?
Good lord, I'm in the food court.
Banana Republic, Guess, Forever 21 – Stop it
Meet me in the dressing room
in Hot Topic
Everything’s on sale to me
Let’s have ourselves a shopping spree
Shop until we drop
Rockin’ down the escalator – Moshin’ in the elevator
Shop until we drop
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all. Pshyeah! (Let's go to the mall)
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all (Let's go to the mall)
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all. Pshyeah! (Let's go to the mall)
Let’s go to the mall – You know they have it all (Let's go to the mall)
Lyrics submitted by apathyz
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
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."
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
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.
UHM? How is justin bieber more famous than Scotty. If THIS was on the radio, I'd never stop listening.