"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.
Polaroid of you
In your best blue dress.
Silos and rolling hills,
Your eyes in brilliant focus.
We learned how our bodies worked,
Soft and familiar,
But you couldn't shake the fear of
Something so similar.
You return to him
'Cos he reminds you of your father,
And it helps you sleep at night
And brings you comfort.
I can't seem to throw away
The letters or the pictures
For some kind of truth
Or proof that all of this really happened.
If you would've tried,
I would've tried.
If commitment's what you wanted,
I would've been the anchor by your side.
If you would've stayed,
Well, I would've stayed.
But the only way to love you now
Is to walk away.
You walked bar to bar,
A wicker basket held high,
Selling roses to the drunkards,
And I bought one every time.
Stumble up the stairs,
Hand in hand, up to the roof.
Love is something that will lead you,
Not something you can choose.
So many years have passed
Since all that wine.
You're a mother now
And how I bet you made a beautiful bride.
I can't seem to throw away
The letters or the pictures
For some kind of truth
Or proof that all of this really happened.
If you would've tried,
I would've tried.
If commitment's what you wanted,
I would've been the anchor by your side.
If you would've stayed,
Well, I would've stayed.
But the only way to love you now
Is to walk away.
If you would've prayed...
O, how I did pray.
But the only way to love something
Is to give it away.
In your best blue dress.
Silos and rolling hills,
Your eyes in brilliant focus.
We learned how our bodies worked,
Soft and familiar,
But you couldn't shake the fear of
Something so similar.
You return to him
'Cos he reminds you of your father,
And it helps you sleep at night
And brings you comfort.
I can't seem to throw away
The letters or the pictures
For some kind of truth
Or proof that all of this really happened.
If you would've tried,
I would've tried.
If commitment's what you wanted,
I would've been the anchor by your side.
If you would've stayed,
Well, I would've stayed.
But the only way to love you now
Is to walk away.
You walked bar to bar,
A wicker basket held high,
Selling roses to the drunkards,
And I bought one every time.
Stumble up the stairs,
Hand in hand, up to the roof.
Love is something that will lead you,
Not something you can choose.
So many years have passed
Since all that wine.
You're a mother now
And how I bet you made a beautiful bride.
I can't seem to throw away
The letters or the pictures
For some kind of truth
Or proof that all of this really happened.
If you would've tried,
I would've tried.
If commitment's what you wanted,
I would've been the anchor by your side.
If you would've stayed,
Well, I would've stayed.
But the only way to love you now
Is to walk away.
If you would've prayed...
O, how I did pray.
But the only way to love something
Is to give it away.
Lyrics submitted by hukdonfoniks, edited by llscience
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
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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.
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.
Really love this song and Heather's voice - she sounds like a young Dolly Parton.
I interpret this song as a sendoff to a long gone lover who chose the 'only way out' instead of acknowledging her sexuality by settling down with a man instead of a woman.