"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.
I woke up today sinkin' like the stones that you have thrown
Wounded by the same old shots you take
It's easier to kick me when I'm low
And I just thought that you should know
That I've been holding on while you've been letting go
Well, it's not too late to say it right this time
'Cause I know I said I'm sorry but that's not what I meant to say
I'm strong enough to say that I don't wanna take the high road now
This is so typical of you to walk away
When your perfect little world is burning down
And I just thought that you should know
That I've been holding on while you've been letting go
Can I be so bold?
'Cause all this sucking up to you is just getting old
Well, it's not too late to say it right this time
Cause I know I said I'm sorry but that's not what I meant to say
What I really meant to say with every little breath I take
I'm not the only one who makes mistakes
Just think of all the ones you've made
And I just thought that you should know
That I've been holding on while you've been letting go
Can I be so bold?
'Cause all this sucking up to you is just getting old
Well, it's not too late to say it right this time
Cause I know I said I'm sorry but that's not what I meant to say
Not what I meant to say
Can I be so bold?
'Cause all this sucking up to you is just getting old
Well, it's not too late to say it right this time
'Cause I know I said I'm sorry but that's not what I meant to say
Wounded by the same old shots you take
It's easier to kick me when I'm low
And I just thought that you should know
That I've been holding on while you've been letting go
Well, it's not too late to say it right this time
'Cause I know I said I'm sorry but that's not what I meant to say
I'm strong enough to say that I don't wanna take the high road now
This is so typical of you to walk away
When your perfect little world is burning down
And I just thought that you should know
That I've been holding on while you've been letting go
Can I be so bold?
'Cause all this sucking up to you is just getting old
Well, it's not too late to say it right this time
Cause I know I said I'm sorry but that's not what I meant to say
What I really meant to say with every little breath I take
I'm not the only one who makes mistakes
Just think of all the ones you've made
And I just thought that you should know
That I've been holding on while you've been letting go
Can I be so bold?
'Cause all this sucking up to you is just getting old
Well, it's not too late to say it right this time
Cause I know I said I'm sorry but that's not what I meant to say
Not what I meant to say
Can I be so bold?
'Cause all this sucking up to you is just getting old
Well, it's not too late to say it right this time
'Cause I know I said I'm sorry but that's not what I meant to say
Lyrics submitted by dontwasteyoursong
What I Meant To Say Lyrics as written by Brian Howes Chris Daughtry
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
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.
By far one of my favorite Daughtry songs :) I love the lyrics soo much! And I can relate =P I reckon it's about finally standing up for yourself and accepting the consequences. Sometimes taking pride in ourselves isn't always a bad thing and if someone is really bringing us down then we have every right to speak our mind. On the other hand, I reckon he's saying it to himself, rather than outloud. Like he's trying to decide what to do. Because he apologizes again and again and he's sick of it because he knows he's in the right.
That's my view :)
A late replay, but I totally agree in your point of view, and this is exactly the same way I felt in the end of my latest relationship! I told her so many times how she was hurting me by retracting herself from the relationship, but I never said it out loud, only spoke to her in my mind. I held on for so long, until the day she said goodbye for good, and left me alone, with no good reason for the ice queen actions of her.<br /> <br /> The moral of the song and my experience is to never hold back the words when the situation is eating you up from the inside. Talk, clear things up and if it's not resolvable, end it before it turns into a even bigger heartbreak.