"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.
That hard, cruel, hostile town
There’s no place you’d want to fail
If somewhere you were to fail
Success at any cost
If fade the same and fall
If fade the same and fall
But even there I did not think of
Someone I should have thought of
She was my fabulous friend
I could but be impressed
I could but be impressed
I wish I’d been hers too
What good does wishing do?
What good does wishing do?
I was born afraid
I miss her to this day
For me and only me
My concern it was for me
My concern it was for me
How am I to accept?
I could show such thoughtlessness
I could show such thoughtlessness
I can’t stop thinking of
The person I did not think of
I’m not brave
I’m not special
I’m not any of those things
I’m not any of those things
This guilt that I do feel
I deserve to always feel
Fully deserve to never not feel
There’s no place you’d want to fail
If somewhere you were to fail
Success at any cost
If fade the same and fall
If fade the same and fall
But even there I did not think of
Someone I should have thought of
She was my fabulous friend
I could but be impressed
I could but be impressed
I wish I’d been hers too
What good does wishing do?
What good does wishing do?
I was born afraid
I miss her to this day
For me and only me
My concern it was for me
My concern it was for me
How am I to accept?
I could show such thoughtlessness
I could show such thoughtlessness
I can’t stop thinking of
The person I did not think of
I’m not brave
I’m not special
I’m not any of those things
I’m not any of those things
This guilt that I do feel
I deserve to always feel
Fully deserve to never not feel
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
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.
This is my favourite song by The Field Mice. I love this song! Every time I hear it I have to press repeat and listen to it again, before I go on to the next song. So I was quite upset to find the lyrics that were posted didn’t resemble what I heard at all. Here’s a more accurate interpretation of the lyrics:
That hard, cruel, hostile tone There’s no place you’d want to fail If some where you were to fail
Success at any cost If fade the same and fall If fade the same and fall But even there I did not think of Someone I should have thought of
She was my fabulous friend I could but be impressed I could but be impressed I wish I’d been hers too What good does wishing do? What good does wishing do?
I was born afraid I miss her to this day For me and only me My concern it was for me My concern it was for me
How am I to accept? I could show such thoughtlessness I could show such thoughtlessness I can’t stop thinking of The person I did not think of
I’m not brave I’m not special I’m not any of those things I’m not any of those things
This guilt that I do feel I deserve to always feel Fully deserve to never not feel
@tootwee4u <br /> Actually, you both have the first sentence slightly wrong. And 'sentence' is key, for the first three lines are all part of a single sentence, with the word "town" making sense as the place he treated her poorly, and the mistake of "There's', which is actually "Is" adding further confusion. Instead, it should read like this, and the rest of the tune makes more sense.<br /> <br /> That hard, cruel, hostile TOWN<br /> IS no place you’d want to fail<br /> If some where you were to fail<br /> <br /> So, just one change to the main lyric body, "Is" for "There's"<br />
Also "some where" should always be a single word, "somewhere."
Pretty basic stuff, but so well done. Basically, I get a sense that the narrator fucked over a very kind friend at some point in their life (seems to be a competitive/job type of thing, if you look at the first two stanzas -- "success at any cost"). It served them well at the time, but now the narrator feels guilty, wishing they could have been the "fabulous friend" that the friend was to them. The narrator can't accept that they were so thoughtless, and now he paradoxically thinks about this friend, when he didn't at the time of screwing her over. He misses her. The last stanza is just pure self-loathing -- the narrator thinks he "fully deserve[s] to never not feel" (which is a double negative of "always," in the line earlier) guilty about what they did to this friend.
I relate to this song a lot. Screwed over a female friend pretty badly in university, and it still haunts me. I too fully deserve to never not feel guilty about it. Oh, and that jangle-y melody that plays throughout the song is perfect.