"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.
When will I start to learn
I'm bleeding in this game
Cause she uses boys like bandages
But the wounds remain the same
And I hope you find it through this endless wandering
I'm missing you for so long
You're a question mark and a scar
You twist me up like a tourniquet
Till I don't know who we are
Chasing after you won't change a thing
And I hope you make it through this endless wandering
Change everything I know, but she won't let me come
And she won't let me go
Let me come inside
I was late and my face was wet, toe up on a private jet
Spiraling down with a cigarette, where we going now cause I forget
Cause I gotta get it all but it takes a toll
Well I guess you'll have to grow a soul
Dark side giving me such a pull, such a pull and if its a
Water landing
Then its a water landing
Put on your life vest only if told to do so
Well I'm telling you now
Strap it across your chest
Prepare yourself for impending death
You and me are nose-diving
At the speed of whiplash, life passes by
In an endless plane crash
Muffled I love you through an oxygen mask
On my face, brace, brace
And the cabin erupts with religious conversions
God's sick joke as we lose the engines
Some people scream and some people are gracious
And the reason's the same
Cause the sky outside is so spacious
So if it's a water landing
Then it's a water landing
And it's coming inside
I'm bleeding in this game
Cause she uses boys like bandages
But the wounds remain the same
And I hope you find it through this endless wandering
I'm missing you for so long
You're a question mark and a scar
You twist me up like a tourniquet
Till I don't know who we are
Chasing after you won't change a thing
And I hope you make it through this endless wandering
Change everything I know, but she won't let me come
And she won't let me go
Let me come inside
I was late and my face was wet, toe up on a private jet
Spiraling down with a cigarette, where we going now cause I forget
Cause I gotta get it all but it takes a toll
Well I guess you'll have to grow a soul
Dark side giving me such a pull, such a pull and if its a
Water landing
Then its a water landing
Put on your life vest only if told to do so
Well I'm telling you now
Strap it across your chest
Prepare yourself for impending death
You and me are nose-diving
At the speed of whiplash, life passes by
In an endless plane crash
Muffled I love you through an oxygen mask
On my face, brace, brace
And the cabin erupts with religious conversions
God's sick joke as we lose the engines
Some people scream and some people are gracious
And the reason's the same
Cause the sky outside is so spacious
So if it's a water landing
Then it's a water landing
And it's coming inside
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
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”
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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.
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.
The bridge on this song is my favorite of any Third Eye Blind. Love the way the energy builds up. Overall just another classic from 3EB. And love the metaphor in this song.
Obviously the first verse is about a woman. The next part, "Let me come inside", i'm not quite sure what is exactly meant in this phrase, or who the speaker is meant to be in this incident.. could be Stephan envisioning himself as the water coming inside of a plane crash, like the last part of the song (of course with the water being used as a metaphor for disaster).
The rest of the song is pretty self-explanatory I think. Love the message of this song:
So if it's a Water Landing Then it's a Water Landing
Sort of an outlook like, "hey if there's a disaster, there's a disaster." Not too big of a deal, you can't do anything to change the fact. You gotta live with it.
I'm pretty sure the chorus is just as dirty and filthy as it sounds. Like Deep Inside Of You...
Yah, except at the end of the song I think it's actually the plane going in the water.