"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.
Running the ship on an ego
Shutting the mind and closed out
People would ask where did he go
As the boat sunk down
Lie to yourself it's so tragic
You become a wreck in slow mo
Breaking it down 'til you're all alone
I'm in the center of a labyrinth
I feel lost I feel imprisoned
Tell me there's an end
I need some oxygen
How did I get here
Help me make it out of here
I can see it all now clear at last, the fog has lifted
If I only knew
All came it focus at once, it's such a gift
If I knew the truth
As long as I've been here never could I steer clear of myself
Think what I could do
What if I'd kept it together
And never to bounce off the ground
It couldn't have got any better
With anyone around
That's how I got here
That's how it got so clear
I can see it all now clear at last, the fog has lifted
If I only knew
All came it focus at once, it's such a gift
If I knew the truth
As long as I've been here never could I steer clear of myself
Think what I could do
I'm finally home
I see a light house
I don't have to roam
It's not all black out
I can see it all now
Out of nowhere came a clue
Truth I hid the truth I hid from me
Hit the skids I hit the skids only
To find a light to light my way home
Sun come through)
I lost it all and all the was left
Beat of my heart, air of my breath
Better late than never
I'm finally home
I see a light house
I don't have to roam
It's not all black out
I can see it all now
Out of nowhere came a clue
Truth I hid the truth I hid from me
Hit the skids I hit the skids only
To find a light to light my way home
HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN
Shutting the mind and closed out
People would ask where did he go
As the boat sunk down
Lie to yourself it's so tragic
You become a wreck in slow mo
Breaking it down 'til you're all alone
I'm in the center of a labyrinth
I feel lost I feel imprisoned
Tell me there's an end
I need some oxygen
How did I get here
Help me make it out of here
I can see it all now clear at last, the fog has lifted
If I only knew
All came it focus at once, it's such a gift
If I knew the truth
As long as I've been here never could I steer clear of myself
Think what I could do
What if I'd kept it together
And never to bounce off the ground
It couldn't have got any better
With anyone around
That's how I got here
That's how it got so clear
I can see it all now clear at last, the fog has lifted
If I only knew
All came it focus at once, it's such a gift
If I knew the truth
As long as I've been here never could I steer clear of myself
Think what I could do
I'm finally home
I see a light house
I don't have to roam
It's not all black out
I can see it all now
Out of nowhere came a clue
Truth I hid the truth I hid from me
Hit the skids I hit the skids only
To find a light to light my way home
Sun come through)
I lost it all and all the was left
Beat of my heart, air of my breath
Better late than never
I'm finally home
I see a light house
I don't have to roam
It's not all black out
I can see it all now
Out of nowhere came a clue
Truth I hid the truth I hid from me
Hit the skids I hit the skids only
To find a light to light my way home
HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN
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Fast Car
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Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
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“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.
How has no one else commented this?! Such a great song and the lyrics have depth unlikesome other uplifter songs! Love it.