"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.
Can you find the time
To let your lover love you
He only wants to show you
The things he wants to learn too
The hardest parts you'll get through
And in the end you'll have your best friend
Love like this may come once
Baby it's fate
Like a soul mate he's your penguin
Baby it's fate
Baby it's fate
Not luck
Can you find the time to let your lover hold you
He needs somebody to hold to
His love is strong and so true
His arrows aiming for you
And he's the one that you were born to love
Love like this may come once
Baby it's fate
Like a soul mate he's your penguin
Baby it's fate
Baby it's fate
Not luck
Oh oh
Let go
Let go of time for you
And I
Let go
Let go of time for you
And I
Let go
Let go of time for you
And I
Love like this is all I want
Baby we're fate
Love like this may come once
Baby we're fate
Like a soul mate you're my penguin
Baby we're fate
Baby it's fate
Not luck
To let your lover love you
He only wants to show you
The things he wants to learn too
The hardest parts you'll get through
And in the end you'll have your best friend
Love like this may come once
Baby it's fate
Like a soul mate he's your penguin
Baby it's fate
Baby it's fate
Not luck
Can you find the time to let your lover hold you
He needs somebody to hold to
His love is strong and so true
His arrows aiming for you
And he's the one that you were born to love
Love like this may come once
Baby it's fate
Like a soul mate he's your penguin
Baby it's fate
Baby it's fate
Not luck
Oh oh
Let go
Let go of time for you
And I
Let go
Let go of time for you
And I
Let go
Let go of time for you
And I
Love like this is all I want
Baby we're fate
Love like this may come once
Baby we're fate
Like a soul mate you're my penguin
Baby we're fate
Baby it's fate
Not luck
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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.
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
I love this song. It is so beautiful. I think its about how in a relationship, if you get through the harsh beginning, you could find both your true love and your best friend. When penguins find a soul mate, they stay together for the rest of their lives. She's saying that when you find your "penguin", it isn't because your lucky. You were fated to be together. And that's what people strive for in their lives. <3
This song brought tears to my eyes... I always tell my boyfriend that he is my penguin, and when I heard this song for the first time, I saw our wedding day on my head. The most beautiful song.
Rather in and not on my head ;)
Gosh! I love this song! I love all her songs, she always has the most amazing lyrics. "The hardest parts you'll get through and in the end you'll have your best friend"....soo true!
This song reminds me of Never Been Kissed...
Okay did no one get that she was singing about a girl, saying "he's your soul mate" but then the end changed and she said "you're my soul mate" and basically give "us" a chance??? So I think it she starts out singing about a girl who is with a guy, but then she likes that girl, and realizes she is her soul mate and wants her to give her a chance. I think it is about her loving a person, not a gender and that Love crosses all boundaries.
I think she could be talking to herself; thinking about the possibilities of letting someone in and giving up time with herself and her loved ones to learn about this new person.