"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.
Are there no fighters left here anymore?
Are we the generation we've been waiting for?
Or are we patiently burning, waiting to be saved?
Our heroes, our icons have mellowed with age
Following rules that they once disobeyed
They're now being led when they used to lead the way
Do you still believe in all the things that you stood by before?
(That you stood by before)
Are you out there on the front lines, or at home keeping score?
Do you care to be the layer of the bricks that seal your fate?
(The bricks that seal your fate)
Would you rather be the architect of what we might create?
(Go)
They laid out the blueprints, they poured down a base
Concrete solutions to slow our decay
But when they are gone
Who the fuck's gonna take their place?
Yeah, will it be the cynic, the critics galore?
The cliché apathetic, passed out on the floor
The trusting complicit who collectively ignore
Do you still believe in all the things that you stood by before?
(That you stood by before)
Are you out there on the front lines, or at home keeping score?
Do you care to be the layer of the bricks that seal your fate?
(The bricks that seal your fate)
Would you rather be the architect of what we might create?
Don't you remember when you were young
And you wanted to set the world on fire?
Somewhere deep down, I know you do (hey, hey, hey, hey)
And don't you remember when we were young
And we wanted to set the world on fire?
'Cause I still am, and I still do
Make no mistake, we are not afraid
To bear the burden of repeating
What they're thinking anyway
Let's raise the stakes
On the bet we made
Let's decide to be the architects
The masters of our fate
Yeah, we still believe in all the things that we stood by before
(That we stood by before)
And after everything we've seen, there may be even more
I know we're not the only ones and we were not the first
(We were not the first)
And unapologetically we stand behind each word
Are we the generation we've been waiting for?
Or are we patiently burning, waiting to be saved?
Our heroes, our icons have mellowed with age
Following rules that they once disobeyed
They're now being led when they used to lead the way
Do you still believe in all the things that you stood by before?
(That you stood by before)
Are you out there on the front lines, or at home keeping score?
Do you care to be the layer of the bricks that seal your fate?
(The bricks that seal your fate)
Would you rather be the architect of what we might create?
(Go)
They laid out the blueprints, they poured down a base
Concrete solutions to slow our decay
But when they are gone
Who the fuck's gonna take their place?
Yeah, will it be the cynic, the critics galore?
The cliché apathetic, passed out on the floor
The trusting complicit who collectively ignore
Do you still believe in all the things that you stood by before?
(That you stood by before)
Are you out there on the front lines, or at home keeping score?
Do you care to be the layer of the bricks that seal your fate?
(The bricks that seal your fate)
Would you rather be the architect of what we might create?
Don't you remember when you were young
And you wanted to set the world on fire?
Somewhere deep down, I know you do (hey, hey, hey, hey)
And don't you remember when we were young
And we wanted to set the world on fire?
'Cause I still am, and I still do
Make no mistake, we are not afraid
To bear the burden of repeating
What they're thinking anyway
Let's raise the stakes
On the bet we made
Let's decide to be the architects
The masters of our fate
Yeah, we still believe in all the things that we stood by before
(That we stood by before)
And after everything we've seen, there may be even more
I know we're not the only ones and we were not the first
(We were not the first)
And unapologetically we stand behind each word
Lyrics submitted by WillCreary, edited by Tollo, TheUsername, Tserra, LeMarkyDussod
Architects Lyrics as written by Joseph Principe Brandon Barnes
Lyrics © 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
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”
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
I think it's "Are there no fighters left here anymore?" instead of what they have..