"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.
Hey handsome have you got the time
I've been watching you since the moment you arrived
A white suit from London, and shoes from Paris
Don't'cha wanna spend about an hour with me
The scent and the aroma refuses to breathe
It's more like a haze that is trying to succeed
It's drawing me in and pulling me to you
And every thought I have turns the language blue
All it costs is just a minute now
For one dollar you can show me how
I'll take your hand and then your worries too
In just one dance I'll make your dreams come true
Don't know why you play hard to get
I'm here to kiss away any thoughts of your regret
The silk tie from Siam shows elegance and class
Handsome as the heavens that a film would never cast
But underneath the mask I see the skin of a man
Smooth and seductive who's really got a plan
It's drawing me in, magnetically to you
All it costs is just a minute now
For one dollar you can show me how
I'll take your hand and then your worries too
In just one dance I'll make your dreams come true
I'm like the smoke on your fire
Smoldering endless desire
How long will your flame burn
All it costs is just a minute now
For one dollar you can show me how
I'll take your hand and then your worries too
In just one dance I'll make your dreams come true
I've been watching you since the moment you arrived
A white suit from London, and shoes from Paris
Don't'cha wanna spend about an hour with me
The scent and the aroma refuses to breathe
It's more like a haze that is trying to succeed
It's drawing me in and pulling me to you
And every thought I have turns the language blue
All it costs is just a minute now
For one dollar you can show me how
I'll take your hand and then your worries too
In just one dance I'll make your dreams come true
Don't know why you play hard to get
I'm here to kiss away any thoughts of your regret
The silk tie from Siam shows elegance and class
Handsome as the heavens that a film would never cast
But underneath the mask I see the skin of a man
Smooth and seductive who's really got a plan
It's drawing me in, magnetically to you
All it costs is just a minute now
For one dollar you can show me how
I'll take your hand and then your worries too
In just one dance I'll make your dreams come true
I'm like the smoke on your fire
Smoldering endless desire
How long will your flame burn
All it costs is just a minute now
For one dollar you can show me how
I'll take your hand and then your worries too
In just one dance I'll make your dreams come true
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[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.
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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
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.
Is this song about prostitution or is that a really shallow thought? Anyone?
Nope, not shallow at all. Not completely accurate, either. It's not a song about a true prostitute. It's a song about a stripper. Well, given the style, it might be more proper to say "cabaret dancer" or "burlesque performer," but they're really just the classy end of the stripper spectrum. If anyone disagrees, take note of the fact (besides the obvious gist of the lyrics) that on the album, the song is just exactly four minutes long--and has a musical and lyrical break at the exact two-minute mark. Strip clubs usually charge by the song, and break songs into two-minute clips to regulate the timing. So you get the first half if you're getting a lap dance, and maybe the whole song if she's on stage, and no awkward mid-stanza breaks!<br /> <br /> In short, this song is totally designed for women to take their clothes off for money to.