"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.
Her voice begins to crack
and her eyes look away
I've been here before
still I don't know what to say
I put my hand on top of hers
And tell her all will be okay
and that I will be here tomorrow
as I am here today
Tears begin to roll down her cheek
she opens her heart
begins to speak
Will you think less of me if I tell you how I feel?
I'm as tired as a winter branch is
in the trees in the field
That for so long have had to carry such a load
and fear they may break at the next coming snow
My heart breaks into a thousand pieces like glass
My mind begins to wander down a familiar path
It takes me to a hospital room
Where my grandmother lay
The cancer is eating her body away
Suddenly she smiles
her eyes open wide
and she says she sees Jesus and the angels by her side
She puckers up her lips
I kiss her goodbye
Put my hand on top of hers
And I watch her die
Will you think less of me if I tell you how I feel?
I'm as tired as a winter branch is
in the trees in the field
That for so long have had to carry such a load
and fear they may break at the next coming snow
There is love
There is beauty
And then there is pain
and at the moment I can't help but feel
that they are all the same
You know I'd fight a thousand angry panthers
screaming in the night
if it meant you'd be kept safe, sound, and all right
but the only thing I've had to fight is you
Now I'm giving up
There is nothing else to do
So let me hold you in my arms once more
then I am going to leave
and forever close the door
Will you think less of me if I tell you how I feel?
I'm as tired as a winter branch is
in the trees in the field
That for so long have had to carry such a load
and fear they may break at the next coming snow
and her eyes look away
I've been here before
still I don't know what to say
I put my hand on top of hers
And tell her all will be okay
and that I will be here tomorrow
as I am here today
Tears begin to roll down her cheek
she opens her heart
begins to speak
Will you think less of me if I tell you how I feel?
I'm as tired as a winter branch is
in the trees in the field
That for so long have had to carry such a load
and fear they may break at the next coming snow
My heart breaks into a thousand pieces like glass
My mind begins to wander down a familiar path
It takes me to a hospital room
Where my grandmother lay
The cancer is eating her body away
Suddenly she smiles
her eyes open wide
and she says she sees Jesus and the angels by her side
She puckers up her lips
I kiss her goodbye
Put my hand on top of hers
And I watch her die
Will you think less of me if I tell you how I feel?
I'm as tired as a winter branch is
in the trees in the field
That for so long have had to carry such a load
and fear they may break at the next coming snow
There is love
There is beauty
And then there is pain
and at the moment I can't help but feel
that they are all the same
You know I'd fight a thousand angry panthers
screaming in the night
if it meant you'd be kept safe, sound, and all right
but the only thing I've had to fight is you
Now I'm giving up
There is nothing else to do
So let me hold you in my arms once more
then I am going to leave
and forever close the door
Will you think less of me if I tell you how I feel?
I'm as tired as a winter branch is
in the trees in the field
That for so long have had to carry such a load
and fear they may break at the next coming snow
Lyrics submitted by cutdowntree
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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.
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.
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.
LOVE.