"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.
Look like a lush. Talk like a tease
The way you like it
In front of your house, alone on the street
You ask me to come inside
Asleep through all our classes
You hang me out to dry
If this is a test
I?m losing my shit
Would it kill you to care
As much as I did?
If this is a test
I'm wasting my breath
You're a stranger I know well
And not at all
Heart on a hook thrown out to the sea
Your basement busy
Sitting in the dark, I turn the radio off for a
Phone call you'll likely miss
Wake me when it's over
The last sound of goodbye
Let's imagine the end before we even begin
You said
You're a stranger I know well, and not at all
The way you like it
In front of your house, alone on the street
You ask me to come inside
Asleep through all our classes
You hang me out to dry
If this is a test
I?m losing my shit
Would it kill you to care
As much as I did?
If this is a test
I'm wasting my breath
You're a stranger I know well
And not at all
Heart on a hook thrown out to the sea
Your basement busy
Sitting in the dark, I turn the radio off for a
Phone call you'll likely miss
Wake me when it's over
The last sound of goodbye
Let's imagine the end before we even begin
You said
You're a stranger I know well, and not at all
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
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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/
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.
"you're a stranger i know well, and not at all" amazing line.
i think this song is about finding something out about someone you thought you know so well. a friend, or girlfriend. but then there's the underlying sexual themes, as well. so im not so suree :/
This is an amazing song, my favorite from the new album I think. To me, it's about a relationship that's slowly falling apart. She's lost interest or is cheating and he's finding that he just doesn't know her like he thought he did.
i first heard this song at a time when it instantly made sense to me and explained to me what i was going through when i couldn't figure it out for myself.
"if this is test i'm losing my shit... ...if this is a test i'm wasting my breath"
if this isn't the end of the relationship, but just a really low point, there is no reason to freak out and lose hope, but you never really know if that's the case or not until it's over.
"you're a stranger i know well, and not at all."
you realize you're having all of these complicated feelings for someone that in reality, you don't know very well at all, but feel as if you do because of all that you feel for them.
This song is reaaaally good XD
idk I think it sounds more about a girl who's stringing him along in a relationship, playing him even, and he's getting tired of it; thinking that the relationship might have been a waste of time, and that they were never really that close.
To me this sounds like one of those relationships where you build someone up to be so amazing, you lose sight of who they are, and never really quite discover it. So when it starts to fall apart, you really want to keep it together, but at the same time you are realizing you don't know anything about this person, and have nothing in common except each other.
i agree with lilyloves, this album is about high school obviously...it makes me think of shit like that in my life when i was in high school, its weird and awesome at the same time...cuz things are so diff now...
also, could be about a relationship that ended..and both sides are too bitter to talk to the other...they dont wanna give in...maybe
Sounds like something I can relate to... It seems like two people are interested in each other, but they don't know much about each other.
"Look like a lush/But talk like a tease/The way you like it/In front of your house Alone on the street/You ask me to come inside/Asleep through all our classes/You hang me out to dry" Yeah, to me this has an underlying sexual theme... maybe they hooked up.
"If this is a test/I'm losing my shit/Would it kill you to care/As much as I did? Maybe the girl is playing games with him... it's driving him nuts. The guy cares and likes the girl a lot, but the girl is confusing him. Maybe she isn't showing much affection.
If this is a test/I'm wasting my breath/You're a stranger I know well/And not at all" He thinks that he's wasting his breath because the relationship isn't really stable, he doesn't want to play games so maybe he's thinking of just ending it & moving on. The whole stranger line tells that maybe he knows her in an intimate way, because they hooked up... but he doesn't know her "at all" because they don't know each other that well or they don't relate mentally.
The linee-"you're a stranger i know well, but not at all" can also mean that maybe this new girl reminds him of an ex-girlfriend in the past.
"Heart on a hook/Thrown out to the sea/Your basement busy Sitting in the dark/I turn the radio off for a/Phone call you'll likely miss Wake me when it's over/The last sound of goodbye" I don't really get the rest of this... "heart on a hook, thrown out to sea", maybe the guy is still feeling like he doesn't really have her since she doesn't know what she wants... his heart is out in the sea instead of her taking it.
"Well, let's imagine the end before we even begin," you said. AH! Favorite line... maybe she doesn't want to keep the relationship going or start going out with the guy because she doesn't think it will work out in the future. She's telling the guy to look at the ending, they're doomed, and that they should just end it now before it gets worse.
I think the heart on a hook line is sorta like fishing. He keeps casting a line, but its useless. And the hook going through his heart hurts him, but he keeps trying. Then he keeps calling her in the next line, but he knows she wont pick up. He is tired of this and doesn't wanna have to deal with her anymore.<br /> Just my interpretation. I think you got everything else right :)
WOULD IT KILL YOU TO CARE AS MUCH AS I DID?
that's the shit.
Just about the narrator character having a girlfriend he loves who doesn't seem to care about him, or he really likes her and she's kinda leading him on to make him think she feels the same way, but does that with a ton of other guys.