"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.
Magazines and movie screens
Still in her mind she's seventeen
Now her life has turned into make believe
Her social status lingers
She's slipping through my fingers
And It's too late
I can't change her mind
She tried celebrity life
Drugs and bottles and super models
She fell out, It's just so easy
Alcohol drains her completely
Just one thing that you'll never wanna miss
She'll do anything to get famous
(To get famous)
And she lives a lie in photographs
Just smiles to forget the past
But on the inside she's still torn apart
And she promises she's different
But it just gets into her head
And It's too late
I can't change her mind
(Not this time)
She tried celebrity life
Drugs and bottles and super models
She fell out, It's just so easy
Alcohol drains her completely
Just one thing that you'll never wanna miss
She'll do anything to get famous
(To get famous)
Fast asleep and in her dreams
She's faking it, just what she's feeling
The lights are on, the clothes come off
She's sitting tight, the party's over
Fast asleep and in her dreams
She's faking it, just what she's feeling
She tried celebrity life
Drugs and bottles and super models
She fell out, It's just so easy
(Just so easy)
She tried celebrity life
Drugs and bottles and super models
She fell out, It's just so easy
Alcohol drains her completely
Just one thing that you'll never wanna miss
She'll do anything to get famous
(To get famous)
She tried celebrity life
Drugs and bottles and super models
She fell out, It's just so easy
She'll do anything to get famous
(To get famous)
Still in her mind she's seventeen
Now her life has turned into make believe
Her social status lingers
She's slipping through my fingers
And It's too late
I can't change her mind
She tried celebrity life
Drugs and bottles and super models
She fell out, It's just so easy
Alcohol drains her completely
Just one thing that you'll never wanna miss
She'll do anything to get famous
(To get famous)
And she lives a lie in photographs
Just smiles to forget the past
But on the inside she's still torn apart
And she promises she's different
But it just gets into her head
And It's too late
I can't change her mind
(Not this time)
She tried celebrity life
Drugs and bottles and super models
She fell out, It's just so easy
Alcohol drains her completely
Just one thing that you'll never wanna miss
She'll do anything to get famous
(To get famous)
Fast asleep and in her dreams
She's faking it, just what she's feeling
The lights are on, the clothes come off
She's sitting tight, the party's over
Fast asleep and in her dreams
She's faking it, just what she's feeling
She tried celebrity life
Drugs and bottles and super models
She fell out, It's just so easy
(Just so easy)
She tried celebrity life
Drugs and bottles and super models
She fell out, It's just so easy
Alcohol drains her completely
Just one thing that you'll never wanna miss
She'll do anything to get famous
(To get famous)
She tried celebrity life
Drugs and bottles and super models
She fell out, It's just so easy
She'll do anything to get famous
(To get famous)
Lyrics submitted by ajc1ne
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
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.
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.
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.
oh man thank god someone posted this haha
anyways i got the new ep i love it just as much as the sketch process ep..
anyways this being one of their new songs i love it
i think its obvious its about a girl and like a lot of girls i know they want a celebrity life and want to famous not really for anything i think a lot of it has to do with role models like paris hilton and people on the hills who do nothing and get famous lol not anyways so this girl would do anything to get famous and she did just that and tried the celebrity life and it seems she got maybe a taste of it but its not what it seemed and alchohol and drugs and all that was her down fall cliche but true,. anyways awesome song i just think the only corrections are "her social status lingers" "she found out its not so easy" sorry i hate when people correct my stuff haha anyways GREAT SONG!!! def buy the ep its great
Gregg-