"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.
It's late now, I think I'm gonna need this
So what, you say, you had your reasons
Our faces frozen on the highway
No turning back, no turning back
It's just you and me, kid, against the world, now
They're after us, they're after us
Now you want to tell me something, something?
I don't want to hear about nothing, nothing
I don't want to hear about nothing
Hey now, I don't want to be here now
All this silence is driving me out of my mind
Hey, mama, wave bye bye
We ain't ever going see that big blue sky
No one's ever gonna to believe us, leave us
Now you want talk about Jesus? Jesus?
Now you want to talk about Jesus?
Hey now, I don't want to know nothing about
All these curious phrases falling out of your mouth
'Cause I've been running
I've been running, now
Fifteen years I've had it coming
You tell me that you want to know my story?
I promise you it's boring, boring
Hey, little brother, want to know why
He caught a thirty-inch club right across his eye?
And now you want to be my father, father?
Tell me why'd you even bother, bother?
Tell me why'd you even bother
Can I just look out the window?
Where are the people I used to know?
Hey now, what's everybody screaming about?
It's going be fine if you put it out of your mind
But I've been screaming, I've been falling
I hear their voices calling calling
You tell me that we're going to be okay
We got fifteen hours and fifteen days
I don't want to be here anymore
I don't want to be here anymore
I don't want to be here anymore
I don't want to be here anymore
I don't want to be here anymore
I don't want to be here anymore
So what, you say, you had your reasons
Our faces frozen on the highway
No turning back, no turning back
It's just you and me, kid, against the world, now
They're after us, they're after us
Now you want to tell me something, something?
I don't want to hear about nothing, nothing
I don't want to hear about nothing
Hey now, I don't want to be here now
All this silence is driving me out of my mind
Hey, mama, wave bye bye
We ain't ever going see that big blue sky
No one's ever gonna to believe us, leave us
Now you want talk about Jesus? Jesus?
Now you want to talk about Jesus?
Hey now, I don't want to know nothing about
All these curious phrases falling out of your mouth
'Cause I've been running
I've been running, now
Fifteen years I've had it coming
You tell me that you want to know my story?
I promise you it's boring, boring
Hey, little brother, want to know why
He caught a thirty-inch club right across his eye?
And now you want to be my father, father?
Tell me why'd you even bother, bother?
Tell me why'd you even bother
Can I just look out the window?
Where are the people I used to know?
Hey now, what's everybody screaming about?
It's going be fine if you put it out of your mind
But I've been screaming, I've been falling
I hear their voices calling calling
You tell me that we're going to be okay
We got fifteen hours and fifteen days
I don't want to be here anymore
I don't want to be here anymore
I don't want to be here anymore
I don't want to be here anymore
I don't want to be here anymore
I don't want to be here anymore
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
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
no comments?! "Everyone in this city seems to take it like a drug Sit up all night, faces so white, they just can't get enough And these shows are all the same, There's something I can't name All the snickering on this flickering screen, The noise numbing my brain"
I LOVE THIS but idk where to get the song!
It's on Disc 2 of the NCIS Soundtrack (vol 1) amzn.to/d547QH