"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 love the feeling when we lift off
Watching the world so small below
I love the dreaming when I think of
The safety in the clouds out my window
I wonder what keeps us so high up
Could there be a love beneath these wings?
If we suddenly fall should I scream out
Or keep very quite and cling to my mouth?
As I'm crying, so frightened of dying
Relax, yes, I'm trying
This fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
I love the quite of the night time
When the sun is drowning in the deathly sea
I can feel my heart beating as I speed from
The sense of time catching up with me
The sky set out like a pathway
But who decides which route we take
As people drift into a dream world
I close my eyes as my hands shake
And when I see a new day
Who's driving this anyway
I picture my own grave 'cause fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Floating neither up or down
I wonder when I'll hit the ground
Well, the earth beneath my body shake
And cast your sleeping hearts awake
Could it tremble stars from moon light skies?
Could it drag a tear from your cold eyes?
I live on the right side, I sleep in the left
That's why everything's gotta be love or death
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Watching the world so small below
I love the dreaming when I think of
The safety in the clouds out my window
I wonder what keeps us so high up
Could there be a love beneath these wings?
If we suddenly fall should I scream out
Or keep very quite and cling to my mouth?
As I'm crying, so frightened of dying
Relax, yes, I'm trying
This fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
I love the quite of the night time
When the sun is drowning in the deathly sea
I can feel my heart beating as I speed from
The sense of time catching up with me
The sky set out like a pathway
But who decides which route we take
As people drift into a dream world
I close my eyes as my hands shake
And when I see a new day
Who's driving this anyway
I picture my own grave 'cause fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Floating neither up or down
I wonder when I'll hit the ground
Well, the earth beneath my body shake
And cast your sleeping hearts awake
Could it tremble stars from moon light skies?
Could it drag a tear from your cold eyes?
I live on the right side, I sleep in the left
That's why everything's gotta be love or death
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Yes, this fear's got a hold on me
Lyrics submitted by cosinewave, edited by Alieno
Death Lyrics as written by Denis Leary
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
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.
and this song is about erm fear?
I take the song as the title implies... I think its about death and the unknowns about death...