"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.
Step one, I ask your name
And Play it off like I'm not scared to death
I think YOu're different somehow
No, you don't seem like all the rest
These walking talking glamour shots
The outside shines, the inside rots
Maybe I'll write it in a note
I'll give you something you can
Quote to all your friends
When you tell them about the guy
Who was sadly mistaken, I thought I could catch your eye
With a little clever wordplay, but if that's not enough
I'll turn to drugs, sex, and alcohol
As a stand-in for your love...because
You make me wanna write pop songs
Power Ballads and sing-alongs
It's not something I'm familiar with
I write music to kill yourself with
Sign to a major label
And tour through every town
I hate myself but I love you
Will you be my girlfriend now?
Ok, I admit it, the note was pretty tactless
But I searched for the path to your heart
couldn't find it in my atlas
Wish I was like my brother
Maybe if I could do backflips
You would fall for me...
You make me wanna write pop songs
Power Ballads and sing-alongs
It's not something I'm familiar with
I write music to kill yourself with
Sign to a major label
And tour through every town
I hate myself but I love you
Will you be my girlfriend now?
I know you think that I am full of shit
(That) the only thing I wanna see is my bed,
with you sprawled across it
Just wanna make you feel better
Better about me
You make me wanna write pop songs
Power Ballads and sing-alongs
It's not something I'm familiar with
I write music to kill yourself with
Sign to a major label
And tour through every town
I hate myself but I love you
Will you be my girlfriend now?
YOu said no
Said you need some time
To see who I am inside
And I'm smart enough to know
That our song ends tonight
You make me wanna write pop songs
Power Ballads and sing-alongs
It's not something I'm familiar with
I write music to kill yourself with
Sign to a major label
And tour through every town
I hate myself but I love you
Will you be my girlfriend now?
...nah, fuck that
You make me wanna hit my bong
Get lit and forget this song
I'll kill myself and still love you
So will you be my girlfriend now?
Why won't you be girlfriend?
You fucking bitch, why won't you be my girlfriend?
And Play it off like I'm not scared to death
I think YOu're different somehow
No, you don't seem like all the rest
These walking talking glamour shots
The outside shines, the inside rots
Maybe I'll write it in a note
I'll give you something you can
Quote to all your friends
When you tell them about the guy
Who was sadly mistaken, I thought I could catch your eye
With a little clever wordplay, but if that's not enough
I'll turn to drugs, sex, and alcohol
As a stand-in for your love...because
You make me wanna write pop songs
Power Ballads and sing-alongs
It's not something I'm familiar with
I write music to kill yourself with
Sign to a major label
And tour through every town
I hate myself but I love you
Will you be my girlfriend now?
Ok, I admit it, the note was pretty tactless
But I searched for the path to your heart
couldn't find it in my atlas
Wish I was like my brother
Maybe if I could do backflips
You would fall for me...
You make me wanna write pop songs
Power Ballads and sing-alongs
It's not something I'm familiar with
I write music to kill yourself with
Sign to a major label
And tour through every town
I hate myself but I love you
Will you be my girlfriend now?
I know you think that I am full of shit
(That) the only thing I wanna see is my bed,
with you sprawled across it
Just wanna make you feel better
Better about me
You make me wanna write pop songs
Power Ballads and sing-alongs
It's not something I'm familiar with
I write music to kill yourself with
Sign to a major label
And tour through every town
I hate myself but I love you
Will you be my girlfriend now?
YOu said no
Said you need some time
To see who I am inside
And I'm smart enough to know
That our song ends tonight
You make me wanna write pop songs
Power Ballads and sing-alongs
It's not something I'm familiar with
I write music to kill yourself with
Sign to a major label
And tour through every town
I hate myself but I love you
Will you be my girlfriend now?
...nah, fuck that
You make me wanna hit my bong
Get lit and forget this song
I'll kill myself and still love you
So will you be my girlfriend now?
Why won't you be girlfriend?
You fucking bitch, why won't you be my girlfriend?
Lyrics submitted by Human4Sale
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.