"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 would die to be your lover lost at sea
And I'd fly to hear your arid sirening
And I'd scream "My love!" through bloody hurricanes
Would you say so if you thought of me?
And would it crush you if you saw me bleed?
And would you dance the same if you knew that I could see?
Do you feel the same for me?
With guns ablaze I'll bring you what you need
And with fires of rain and wake our blinking city up
I'll scream "My love!" as arrows fill the skies.
Would you say so if you thought of me?
And would it crush you if you saw me bleed?
And would you dance the same if you knew that I could see?
Do you feel the same for me?
Hey now, oh no you've got a clean shot
All the ways you could pierce my heart.
Hey now, oh no you've run me right through
With all these words that I've sung to you.
Would you say so if you thought of me?
And would it crush you if you saw me bleed?
And would you dance the same if you knew that I could see?
Do you feel the same for me?
And I'd fly to hear your arid sirening
And I'd scream "My love!" through bloody hurricanes
Would you say so if you thought of me?
And would it crush you if you saw me bleed?
And would you dance the same if you knew that I could see?
Do you feel the same for me?
With guns ablaze I'll bring you what you need
And with fires of rain and wake our blinking city up
I'll scream "My love!" as arrows fill the skies.
Would you say so if you thought of me?
And would it crush you if you saw me bleed?
And would you dance the same if you knew that I could see?
Do you feel the same for me?
Hey now, oh no you've got a clean shot
All the ways you could pierce my heart.
Hey now, oh no you've run me right through
With all these words that I've sung to you.
Would you say so if you thought of me?
And would it crush you if you saw me bleed?
And would you dance the same if you knew that I could see?
Do you feel the same for me?
Lyrics submitted by BinacaFreak
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
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
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.
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.
and the dancing part doesn't literally mean dancing...it means the way we live our lives and how if we learn to understand Jesus,that we need to think of Him in our everyday lives...and that if we realized that he was watching and understood that, most of us would act differently.
Respectfully. what is it with you people thinking everything is about Jesus and God? Just cause the band is labelled as christian rock at times doesn't mean this beautiful piece of art describing romanticism is about Jesus.. This song just proves how culture today has set some really bad standards on the word "love." As soon as someone looks at a person from a distance, they're stalkers. We have all done it, we have all seen that person we think would make us happy and wished they looked back. Anyway, disrespectfully, you guys are freaky asexual creatures who would rather think this song is about a deity rather than fall into its true trance.
@Darwino In part I totally agree with you, and in part completely disagree. This world definately has a messed up perception of love, where if someone watches the one they love from afar it is about stalking and if the band is "Christian" then the song must be about Jesus.<br /> <br /> However, I think you're absolutely wrong about the fact that Christians are "freaky asexual people who would rather think this song is about a deity rather than fall into it's true trance." First of all, the band themselves are Christians, so they obviously grasp the concept. Just look at bands like Anberlin, Flyleaf, Lifehouse, Relient K etc. They're Christians but they get it too. Second, I am a Christian myself, and the whole heart-bursting, proclaming-from-the-rooftops feeling of romance in this beautiful song is not lost on me. It is not "us people" who think God's there when He's not (though I'm not diminishing His importance at all), it is simple-minded people who don't know better.Christians are no less human than anyone else. We're all just people.