"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.
Well, tonight out on the streets I'm gonna follow you
And tell you all about a scene that you would kill for
You're gonna love what's running right in front of you
But you won't see it by the light of the sun
Come out tigerlily, you're caressing me
I'll take you up, I'll turn you on, I'll take your apathy
I wouldn't lie to you blossom, won't you let it go
I'm gonna give you what you want and don't you know (That you)
I know you better than this
I could be here when you call
I'll make you top of the list
And in the crash of the dark
I'll be your light in the mist
I can see you burning with desire for a kiss
Psychobabble all upon your lips
They can sell it all they want but you cannot agree
I don't like the taste of damn morality
You'll find your bread and you butter where you fake it
And put your face in the gutter of a snake pit
But out communication is telepathy
What you give is what you get out of us naturally
And we can wait 'til the shadow rolls along
And turn the page of the story that has long since found a home
I know you better than this
I could be here when you call
I'll make you top of the list
And in the crash of the dark
I'll be your light in the mist
I can see you burning with desire for a kiss
Psychobabble all upon your lips
Have you ever felt like you're being followed?
Or watched the ones that held your stare?
Turned around to see who's behind you to find there's no one there
Pra-lurking in the dark is someone who breathes you night and day
There's a friend who wants so much more
But if they can't have you, they'll never let you walk away
And in the crash of the dark
I'll be your light in the mist
I can see you burning with desire for a kiss
And in the crash of the dark
I'll be your light in the mist
I can see you burning with desire for a kiss
Psychobabble all upon your lips
And tell you all about a scene that you would kill for
You're gonna love what's running right in front of you
But you won't see it by the light of the sun
Come out tigerlily, you're caressing me
I'll take you up, I'll turn you on, I'll take your apathy
I wouldn't lie to you blossom, won't you let it go
I'm gonna give you what you want and don't you know (That you)
I know you better than this
I could be here when you call
I'll make you top of the list
And in the crash of the dark
I'll be your light in the mist
I can see you burning with desire for a kiss
Psychobabble all upon your lips
They can sell it all they want but you cannot agree
I don't like the taste of damn morality
You'll find your bread and you butter where you fake it
And put your face in the gutter of a snake pit
But out communication is telepathy
What you give is what you get out of us naturally
And we can wait 'til the shadow rolls along
And turn the page of the story that has long since found a home
I know you better than this
I could be here when you call
I'll make you top of the list
And in the crash of the dark
I'll be your light in the mist
I can see you burning with desire for a kiss
Psychobabble all upon your lips
Have you ever felt like you're being followed?
Or watched the ones that held your stare?
Turned around to see who's behind you to find there's no one there
Pra-lurking in the dark is someone who breathes you night and day
There's a friend who wants so much more
But if they can't have you, they'll never let you walk away
And in the crash of the dark
I'll be your light in the mist
I can see you burning with desire for a kiss
And in the crash of the dark
I'll be your light in the mist
I can see you burning with desire for a kiss
Psychobabble all upon your lips
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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”
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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.
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.
I know it sounds a tad stalkerish, but I don't think it's about stalking someone.As someone said besfore, the Tiger Lily is a show of female courage and possible aggression, and can mean "I dare you to love me". I think her Tiger Lily in this song is someone who has been playing games with her, acting as though they care and then withdrawing - playing hard to get basically. And now she's decided she has to make the next move, and the song is about her doing so. It's like a challenge - "Come on then, if you want me, here I am."