"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.
Forgive all my sins
I know I'll commit them
I know what will happen
When I trade reason for loss of control
A call to arms with holes and scars
With healthy minds we enlisted to war
You will see a shadow cast upon the light you know
There will be an angel weeping tears of blood that stain the earth below
You'll lose yourself, but you won't find any peace
You won't find any hope
You'll lose yourself
Is this where you belong?
You try to avoid it
You try to abstain
But it relentlessly takes its control
You must obey
You'll cower now
You've surpassed your threshold for pain
You will see a shadow cast upon the light you know
There will be an angel weeping tears of blood that stain the earth below
You'll lose yourself, but you won't find any peace
You won't find any hope
You'll lose yourself
Is this where you be
You are not the one who's trapped inside
You can make a difference
Look into your mind
Line your memories are what defines
Who you really are
That's what makes you special (special), beautiful (beautiful)
You can still be loved
You are held in such a high regard
Your blood is contagious
Summoning desperation
Your mind is a blur
A chemical spill
You need to wipe it out
You must fight, you must fight
You must stand, you must stand
You must believe in yourself
You will see a shadow cast upon the light you know
There will be an angel weeping tears of blood that stain the earth below
You'll lose yourself, but you won't find any peace
You won't find any hope
You'll lose yourself
Is this where you belong?
I know I'll commit them
I know what will happen
When I trade reason for loss of control
A call to arms with holes and scars
With healthy minds we enlisted to war
You will see a shadow cast upon the light you know
There will be an angel weeping tears of blood that stain the earth below
You'll lose yourself, but you won't find any peace
You won't find any hope
You'll lose yourself
Is this where you belong?
You try to avoid it
You try to abstain
But it relentlessly takes its control
You must obey
You'll cower now
You've surpassed your threshold for pain
You will see a shadow cast upon the light you know
There will be an angel weeping tears of blood that stain the earth below
You'll lose yourself, but you won't find any peace
You won't find any hope
You'll lose yourself
Is this where you be
You are not the one who's trapped inside
You can make a difference
Look into your mind
Line your memories are what defines
Who you really are
That's what makes you special (special), beautiful (beautiful)
You can still be loved
You are held in such a high regard
Your blood is contagious
Summoning desperation
Your mind is a blur
A chemical spill
You need to wipe it out
You must fight, you must fight
You must stand, you must stand
You must believe in yourself
You will see a shadow cast upon the light you know
There will be an angel weeping tears of blood that stain the earth below
You'll lose yourself, but you won't find any peace
You won't find any hope
You'll lose yourself
Is this where you belong?
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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.
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.
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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Did the best I could, I'll be listening to it a few more times to try and nail down the lyrics for sure but any help is appreciated.
They're definitely right. The booklet confirms that.
i love this song. probably my favorite from the new album. I love right after the second chorus how it starts to be uplifting and encouraging. this songs puts a picture of an intervention in my mind. they are trying to help someone get better, and in that part they try to lift their spirits. but right after that in the breakdown is when they get serious and say they have to get help.
Shane: "This song probably changed the most from when we first wrote it to how it is on the record. We ended up overhauling the whole verse and made it double time, but there's a demo version out from when it was slower. It's cool to see how one change of the drums can make the vibe of a song so different." Seems that this is reviewers' favourite one off the album. I do actually like it, but I think that many other tracks are far better than this one (Replace You, Burning Hearts, Sacrifice, The Artist, just to name a few).