"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.
I've been driving with the rear view mirror.
Who guessed it would be no clearer?
It got me lost, and now I'm late.
The clock's dead on, no one to blame but me.
Is this a bad chase dream where speed's not what it seems?
The pedal's pressed, but nothing works.
Bite your nails 'til your fingers hurt.
What now? What now boy?
What now? Who you are is not enough.
It's hard to know where we should go
When home's too far away and "here" is a hollow place
Where people come to softly hum
The songs that scare you most, believe me I'm scared enough
Bite down, 'cause everyone's looking.
Wouldn't this be the perfect bookend?
Little boy was scared at first.
Brazen once, but now he's gone astray
What now boy?
It's hard to know where we should go
When home's too far away and "here" is a hollow place
Where people come to softly hum
The songs that scare you most, believe me I'm scared enough
It stings to say it out loud
Who guessed it would be no clearer?
It got me lost, and now I'm late.
The clock's dead on, no one to blame but me.
Is this a bad chase dream where speed's not what it seems?
The pedal's pressed, but nothing works.
Bite your nails 'til your fingers hurt.
What now? What now boy?
What now? Who you are is not enough.
It's hard to know where we should go
When home's too far away and "here" is a hollow place
Where people come to softly hum
The songs that scare you most, believe me I'm scared enough
Bite down, 'cause everyone's looking.
Wouldn't this be the perfect bookend?
Little boy was scared at first.
Brazen once, but now he's gone astray
What now boy?
It's hard to know where we should go
When home's too far away and "here" is a hollow place
Where people come to softly hum
The songs that scare you most, believe me I'm scared enough
It stings to say it out loud
Lyrics submitted by books_out_loud
Hollow Place Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © POUND IT MUSIC
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
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.
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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.
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.
This song alone has more power than most bands can hope to ever even come close to.
This song alone has more power than most bands can hope to ever even come close to.
Agreed. Surprised there aren't more comments - this is one of their best songs.
a boy, possibly addicted to a substance? it would make sense if this whole album was about losing friends, family, yourself to a drug addiction, "Sometimes Things Just Disappear". "Eat Dinner" would be about losing your girl, this song would be about losing his confidence and dignity, "Heart Attack at Thirty" would be him finally losing his life and "Convinced I'm Wrong" could be like a tribute to his death, if he could write a song afterward.
maybe
substance abuse and addiction - interesting take, for sure. <br /> <br /> "here's a hollow place" could totally be an allusion to being high, coming down off something, and/or the condition of being addicted, right?<br /> <br /> i'll try think about the other songs within the scope of a greater narrative, like you're saying. <br /> <br /> cool shit, man.
i think you guys are spot on - immense power in this song with provocative imagery.
rear view mirror - sounds like our narrator is looking back - maybe for clarity - but gaining nothing.
it's like when you're stuck; and then you look back at the events leading up to where you are, hoping to figure out what happened or conveniently blame circumstance. but you come up short: the past illuminates nothing new, you realize you have "no one to blame," and you're where you're at regardless of what happened.
biting nails; the clock working against you; running out of time; speeding, and not going fast enough; stepping on the pedal to no avail - all reference anxiety.
how beautiful is this chorus? i think that anyone who has felt lost and out of place finds resonance here;
"home's too far away and "here" is a HOLLOW place."
wow.
and i think the latter part of the chorus is a clear allusion to the feeling one gets when you're surrounded by people you can't relate too.
simply put, i think this song is about the anxiety associated with being lost.
also! this might have just been a clever choice on the part of our interpreter, "books out loud"<br /> <br /> but "here" in the chorus is placed intentionally between quotes.<br /> <br /> the word as it is used in the song is not so much meant to reference a specific and literal place (but it could!), but perhaps a state of being, a mindset, a stage, a period in time or life.