"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.
Hungry is an adjective attached to my philosophy, it's gotta be, progress revolves around economy
And I can see the consequence of capital first-hand, monorail construction pushed the tenants off the land
My people, get ready, it's about to get heavy, and when I'm not humbled then I got fam to check me
Silence won't protect me so I check one-two, and fight without fighting like the joint by Sun Tzu
On the hill, adjacent to Boeing Field, you can hear the planes flying over me behind my vocals
We speak in the Beacon Hill slang with a wonderful blend of black language and immigrant accent
And if the sun's out, half the kids will be absent, I'm navigating streets, sometimes it's like a labyrinth
I paint my voice while Sabzi builds the canvas to translate my ancestors anthems
It's a southside revival, put your hands high, let your arms be the pillars that be holdin' up the sky
I heard a few heads say that hip-hop was dead, no it's not
It's just malnourished and underfed (x2)
Now the reason that they killed made the reason that we came to be
Trying to eat and organize simultaneously, but instead most will settle for less
I can't front I give a fuck if Ronald Reagan is dead
He turned segments of the population into crack fiends, eradicated everything we gained in the '60's
Back to square 1, let's revise the strategy to reload the gun and bring about a radical change son
These tough talking cowards ain't hard, they'll bounce on the squad when it's time to go to war
Like George Bush did to the National Guard, real world-like swordplay, vernacular shark
Veterns of American wars, they get home maladjusted with post-traumatic stress syndrome
Peace to my big brother, leavin' in a week, stay safe in the Middle East, brah, get home safely
It's a southside revival, put your hands high, let your arms be the pillars that be holdin' up the sky
I heard a few heads say that hip-hop was dead, no it's not
It's just malnourished and underfed (x2)
I'm convinced that a return to the basics is needed, I like blizzes that burn long like DVS pieces
My speech releases fire from the beast within. I acknowledge its a game, I justify my need to win
Now, some get hip and some choose to stay ignorant, friction leads to fire now the cauldron is simmering
World champion B-Boys up in Jefferson, brothers gotta document for those not remembering
Both Props and Flavor magazines, rest in peace, I breath deep, proceed to clutch a mic and bless her dream
You say there's no time to study, people look, you got time to take a shit then you got time to read a book
I proceed to leave my footprints embedded on the block my first-born is learning to walk upon
Cops pour salt over the market, the south end is marching, we dedicate this song to the dearly departed
It's a southside revival, put your hands high, let your arms be the pillars that be holdin' up the sky
I heard a few heads say that hip-hop was dead, no it's not
It's just malnourished and underfed (x2)
And I can see the consequence of capital first-hand, monorail construction pushed the tenants off the land
My people, get ready, it's about to get heavy, and when I'm not humbled then I got fam to check me
Silence won't protect me so I check one-two, and fight without fighting like the joint by Sun Tzu
On the hill, adjacent to Boeing Field, you can hear the planes flying over me behind my vocals
We speak in the Beacon Hill slang with a wonderful blend of black language and immigrant accent
And if the sun's out, half the kids will be absent, I'm navigating streets, sometimes it's like a labyrinth
I paint my voice while Sabzi builds the canvas to translate my ancestors anthems
It's a southside revival, put your hands high, let your arms be the pillars that be holdin' up the sky
I heard a few heads say that hip-hop was dead, no it's not
It's just malnourished and underfed (x2)
Now the reason that they killed made the reason that we came to be
Trying to eat and organize simultaneously, but instead most will settle for less
I can't front I give a fuck if Ronald Reagan is dead
He turned segments of the population into crack fiends, eradicated everything we gained in the '60's
Back to square 1, let's revise the strategy to reload the gun and bring about a radical change son
These tough talking cowards ain't hard, they'll bounce on the squad when it's time to go to war
Like George Bush did to the National Guard, real world-like swordplay, vernacular shark
Veterns of American wars, they get home maladjusted with post-traumatic stress syndrome
Peace to my big brother, leavin' in a week, stay safe in the Middle East, brah, get home safely
It's a southside revival, put your hands high, let your arms be the pillars that be holdin' up the sky
I heard a few heads say that hip-hop was dead, no it's not
It's just malnourished and underfed (x2)
I'm convinced that a return to the basics is needed, I like blizzes that burn long like DVS pieces
My speech releases fire from the beast within. I acknowledge its a game, I justify my need to win
Now, some get hip and some choose to stay ignorant, friction leads to fire now the cauldron is simmering
World champion B-Boys up in Jefferson, brothers gotta document for those not remembering
Both Props and Flavor magazines, rest in peace, I breath deep, proceed to clutch a mic and bless her dream
You say there's no time to study, people look, you got time to take a shit then you got time to read a book
I proceed to leave my footprints embedded on the block my first-born is learning to walk upon
Cops pour salt over the market, the south end is marching, we dedicate this song to the dearly departed
It's a southside revival, put your hands high, let your arms be the pillars that be holdin' up the sky
I heard a few heads say that hip-hop was dead, no it's not
It's just malnourished and underfed (x2)
Lyrics submitted by skeptic_8
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Bee Gees
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Blue
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“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Page
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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.